To put it simply, we like it. And we are not the only ones.
The judges of the 2016 Collegiate Advertising Awards agreed, awarding Fort Lewis College a first place, gold designation for its new logo for the college’s Native American Center.
The Fort, in fact, pulled off a trifecta competing against schools of similar size (2,001 to 5,000 students) at the annual contest, winning another gold for a short video on the center and a silver for its admission/acceptance packet that is provided to new students.
More importantly, graphic designer Bill Grimes’ logo, done in the style of traditional carvings of tribes from the Pacific Northwest, has been embraced by the Native American students on campus, who rely on the center for a variety of services and for social connections and celebrations.
As mentioned in the video, there are approximately 1,200 native students at FLC ranging in age from 15 to over 50. Many are traditional college-aged students, but there are nontraditional students, single parents and couples with children as well. More than 150 tribal nations are represented by students at Fort Lewis, a diversity not always well represented here in Durango, where Puebloan and Navajo images and art are predominant.
An earlier attempt by Grimes to represent more tribes in a new logo was too complicated, said Native American Center director Yvonne Belinsky. Avoiding further frustration, the decision was made to make the logo simpler and cleaner.
While the logo currently emphasizes the art of tribes from one region of the country, Belinsky said the logo could occasionally change in the future to embrace traditions of tribes from other parts of the country.
That idea, like the awards the school garnered in the ad completion, is commendable.
To see the award-winning video by FLC videographer Shan Wells, visit the Native American Center’s home page at www.fortlewis.edu/native-american-center.
