Two Conestoga Graphic Design students are behind a new logo to celebrate the City of Cambridge’s 50th anniversary.
Second-year Graphic Design student Keri Ryan (left) and third-year student Julia Boss-Zister (right) designed the logo for the City of Cambridge’s upcoming anniversary celebrations as part of a real-world client project. Logo: City of Cambridge.
Students Julia Boss-Zister and Keri Ryan completed the winning design earlier this year as a part of an assigned real-world client project. The City of Cambridge approached the program to help create a compelling brand identifier or logo to mark upcoming anniversary events and celebrations in 2023. First- and second-year students in the program were paired to collaborate on a design to present to city officials. Three logos, including Boss-Zister and Ryan’s, were chosen to move forward for public voting. Nearly 2,000 residents participated in helping choose the design.
“As a first-year student at the time, this project was a great learning experience. It was our first opportunity to work with a client and one of our first major group projects to experience working in a team,” said Ryan. “Everyone’s work was so amazing, and it was interesting to see the different concepts we all came up with.”
Boss-Zister and Ryan said they went through several versions before landing on a final design incorporating features of Cambridge while encapsulating curving and flowing elements of the city’s current logo. The interlaced shapes represent the communities that make up Cambridge as well as the bridges and rivers that run through the city.
“To have that client interaction was a really valuable experience. Beyond being able to showcase it on a resume, it gives you ties to your community and local connections,” said Boss-Zister. “The support from our teachers throughout the process as well, and being able to get their feedback, was incredible. Without them, we wouldn’t have ended up with our final design. We really appreciate them.”
The City of Cambridge was established in 1973 with the unification of the towns of Hespeler, Galt, Preston and Blair. The city plans to celebrate its 50th anniversary throughout 2023 with a series of city-led and community-based events and activities. Boss-Zister and Ryan’s logo design will be utilized throughout the celebration.
“We have so many important partners in our community,” said Julie Kalbfleisch, director of communications for the City of Cambridge, in a release, “and are appreciative of the talent and effort that these students put in to capture a design that encompasses what Cambridge means to them.”
Conestoga’s three-year Graphic Design advanced diploma program is recognized as one of the top design programs in the province. It employs a project-based learning approach that addresses design, digital content creation, communication, inter-personal, mechanical, technical and enhanced employability skills.