Sunday, November 20, 2011

Kaitlen Peterson, Anoka Ramsey Community College

For my logo design I chose to highlight the north woods of Minnesota and our reputation as the "North Star State" by including an endless evergreen forest and a clear night sky with the big and little dippers highlighted in golden stars. I decided to also be a little cliche and include the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" that appears on our license plates. The wolf pack highlighted in the lower half of my design is because in Minnesota we have the largest population of Timberwolves second only to Alaska. I asked my younger brother what he thought of the design and he said I needed a lake with the moon reflected on the surface of the water so I put it in because my brother enjoys the outdoors and connecting with nature as much as I do. I tried to figure out how to put the silhouette of the state into the design and decided to just put it on the submarine itself. Getting the curve of the state image to match the curve in the sub took me several tries and I finally got a result I was happy with. I decided to use a variance of blues throughout the entire design to convey the feel of water. My hope is that the design conveys a message of natural beauty and strength with an underlying hint of danger symbolized in the wolves. Another reason for choosing to depict wolves instead of any of the state symbols is that it seemed stronger and the fact that wolf packs work together and keep each other safe.
My personal connection to Minnesota is deeply rooted in my family because I'm a born and raised Minnesotan. My family was my inspiration and the drive I needed to create this design. They're also the people I bounce all my ideas off of before I add them to something. Graphic Design is what I'm studying in college and I hope to graduate with my BFA in Graphic Design in two years. My family makes a point of camping every other year in a Minnesota State park for a week because we just love the different landscapes that are included within a single state. My favorite thing to do in the fall is go up to Duluth and Two Harbors on any random Saturday just to watch the ships come in and look at the fall colors in the leaves as well as just enjoy the change of seasons. When I was little my favorite book series was the Little House books which start in western Wisconsin and continue through Minnesota and on to the Dakotas and Nebraska. What I'm saying with this is that I've always loved living here in Minnesota and even reading about it in books. The majority of my extended family is in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa with a few exceptions due to service commitments or jobs. My dad's side of the family has three or four generations based in North Branch and my Great Aunt is a famous pottery artist based out of Willow River, MN. I'm deeply tied to Minnesota and love it.

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