Southern student wins competition to redesign the Collegedale City logo

By: Lillie  Lelko – Breaking News reporter

Laurissa Mancia, junior graphic design major, won first place in a competition to redesign the Collegedale City logo.

The new logo was chosen by the Collegedale city commissioners at a meeting on Tuesday, February 17,at the City Hall.

Tonya Sadler, the Vice Mayor, said in the commission meeting that the city would have an agreement to work with the winner and contact them for any changes that might need to be made to the logo.

The commissioners voted on a winner from a group of three finalists in a competition that was open to all Collegedale residents and Southern students. The finalists presented their logos and the stories behind them, and the board voted on a winner.

The three finalists were Joe La Com, Associate Professor in Southern’s School of Visual Art and Design, Larnell Samuel, senior graphic design major at Southern and Mancia.

Mancia said in an interview with the Accent that she started her design process by learning about Collegedale’s history.

“It’s always good to know the background before you start designing,” She said.

According to Mancia, she gained inspiration by taking walks around Collegedale.

“I probably walked about a marathon across Collegedale trying to get different views of things,” Mancia said.

“Overall, I sat down at my table drawing for hours, I spent probably weeks trying to figure out something that wasn’t just traditional [or] something that someone would expect.”

Jason Allin, Collegedale Planning Manager, said in an interview with the Accent that the Commission wanted to get a new city logo and a branding identity which he helped to put together.

Allin said his favorite part of the project was witnessing the participants from across the city come together to compete. “We’re super excited and grateful… for everyone who applied. It was super difficult to pick.” Allin said. “I was glad I wasn’t the commission having to pick because I liked all three of them.”