Cindy Burton, associate professor of Visual Communication, said students in the program are required to complete 180 hours of work during their practicum class. This project counted toward those hours for those who chose to participate.
“A few weeks before the semester ended I was contacted by Julie Parent with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services to see about the possibility of getting a logo designed for a grant that is housed in the Adanta office in Somerset,” said Burton. “We discussed the project and decided to have a friendly competition between the students with the winning logo being chosen by the administrators of the grant.”
The grant, said Parent, is focused on suicide prevention and treatment. The logo will be used by the coalition of prevention advocates throughout the state.
Cox, the winner of the contest, is on track to graduate with her associate in applied science degree in Visual Communication: Multimedia in May 2017.
Cox currently works as the marketing coordinator for Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital. She started working in graphic design while in high school at Somerset High School. She continued that work while attending Berea College and later at Somerset Printing and Signs. She decided to finish her degree to improve her skills and also better prepare for her bachelor’s degree, which she plans to obtain from Campbellsville University.
The logo Cox designed was grounded in thought and research, she said.
“As someone who works in healthcare and helps to educate our community on various health issues, I see a great need for suicide prevention education in our region,” said Cox. “The symbol for suicide prevention is the semicolon - representing a pause, not an end; the awareness colors for suicide prevention are teal and purple, so I felt it was important to reinforce those themes in this logo. Logos are the first step in brand identity, so I thought having a strong, easy to read logo would be of benefit as this organization is getting started in our region. This structure also lends well for different applications, like embroidery and screen printing, so they can use it for any needs that may arise.”
Cox was honored her logo was chosen to represent the coalition and said her experience at SCC has been useful in her career.
“It was nice having classes reinforce what I had already learned from real-world experiences, and encourages me that other students will be learning valuable information for a design career,” Cox said. “And I must say, I've had the best advisor, Cindy Burton. Of all my college experiences, she has been the most helpful and most knowledgeable in her field. I wish I could take her with me for my bachelor’s degree!
To find out more about the Visual Communication program at SCC, contact Cindy Burton at cindy.burton@kctcs.edu.