The North Central Washington Forest Health Collaborative (NCWFHC), which is working to accelerate restoration on the National Forest lands in the region, needed a logo to represent this organization. Without any resources for a designer, the NCWFHC Outreach Workgroup approached the Wenatchee Valley College (WVC) Design Department in the fall of 2014 to seek a student designer. Instructor David Hampton suggested a competition among his students. Each student provided two draft logos, with feedback provided from the NCWFHC selection committee, made up of industry, conservation, and tribal representatives.
The final logo was selected in late November, and approved in early December by the full Collaborative. Hilda Emerson, WVC Graphic Design student, created the winning logo and won $200, provided by The Nature Conservancy, a member of the NCWFHC. The committee had a difficult time selecting the final logo, as all the logos were of high quality. Hilda said the most rewarding moment of the process was winning the competition. “My classmates were all very competitive and we all worked very hard on the logo designs. It could have gone either way and we all tried to give the Collaborative quality logos to choose from.” She said her design for the logo came from growing up in Washington State and camping near Colville as a child. “My inspiration came from the Cascade Mountains and the rivers and the landscape of Washington State.” Hilda looks forward to a career in Graphic Design. The WVC two-year sequence of graphic design courses provide students with entry-level skills in the field of graphic design.
Amanda Levesque, Cascadia Conservation District and Outreach Workgroup Chair, said the Collaborative is extremely pleased with the outcome of the competition and this partnership with WVC. She said, “The Collaborative enjoyed the professionalism of the WVC students and staff, and we would recommend the experience to others. It’s a win-win for everybody.”
For more information regarding the ongoing work of the NCWFHC. Please see www.NCWFHC.org or call Melody Kreimes at (509) 888-0321.
