Second year Sarah Carr, Vector grad and Marketing Coordinator

Project Spotlight: Sarah Carr, Vector

Introduction

For one of our projects in Vector last semester, we were asked to design or redesign a company logo. I chose to create a logo for the Charlottesville Ice Park, the new ice rink that is (hopefully) being built in Charlottesville soon. I chose Cville Ice because, as a member of UVA’s Club Figure Skating team, it’s a cause I am passionate about. I also thought their current logo was a bit boring, and I wanted to design something more creative and unique.

The Process

I started the project by sketching out a few ideas on paper so that I could work out a basic design before moving to Adobe Illustrator. I knew that I wanted to incorporate a skate or skater and the words “Cville Ice” into my design. I drew a few different options, but I still wasn’t totally happy with how it looked.

My initial sketches

At a weekly check-in with the Vector Program Coordinators, we came up with the idea to use the words to create the shape of a skate. This made the logo much more dynamic and interesting than my previous ideas, which kept the skate image and the text separate.

Three versions of the final logo

Takeaways

I really enjoyed this project because it allowed me to combine something I love (skating) with design. It also showed me how important trial and error and collaboration can be in a project. If I hadn’t met with the program coordinators and talked about my logo with them, I might have never come up with my final idea. This project also helped me feel more confident with using Illustrator because I became better at using all the different tools and I loved how my design came out in the end.

UVA grad Allison Garrett teaches our graphic design students in our peer-to-peer learning model

Vector is our graphic design course, in which you’ll gain an understanding of design principles and the design process. You’ll also learn both hard skills within the Adobe Creative Suite, as well as soft skills such as branding, critiquing others’ work, and presenting to clients. As a creative course that encourages exploration and taking risks, you’ll gain the skills and confidence to pursue your interest in design. Learn more and register here.