Arts & Culture
Lehi Cares Coalition announces youth logo contest winner
The Lehi Cares Coalition youth logo design contest was a success. With 106 total entries, determining the winning logo was the difficult part. After a public vote from the Lehi community, the top ten finalists emerged and final judging evaluated the entries based on creativity, originality, relevance to the brand and overall aesthetic.
Elizabeth Gourley, eighth grade student at Lehi Junior High School, won the contest. Second place was awarded to Elisabeth Hadley, eighth grade student at Lehi Junior High School, and Adyson Quintero, 7th grade student at Lehi Junior High School, was awarded third place.
Top ten finalists:
Rowan Pheysey
Elisabeth Hadley
Lucy Lowe
Kate Day
Shae Packard
Dean Barney
Callie Felix
Adyson Quintero
Avonlea Dutson
Elizabeth Gourley
“This contest was a huge success. We were blown away by the fact that we had over 100 entries, so we were thrilled with the amount of participation by the youth,” said Chelsea Frost, Prevention Coordinator for Lehi Cares Coalition. “It was also an awesome opportunity to connect with the community. Between teachers encouraging their students to enter the contest, businesses donating prizes, Adobe helping our top ten to finalize their designs, and community members participating in the vote and reaching out to learn how they could participate in the coalition, we couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. The purpose of Lehi Cares is to bring the Lehi community together to support our youth, and this contest was a great example of that.”
Adobe provided a digital design workshop for participants to create a more competitive design. Adobe offered one-on-one support to all participants who were interested, including the ten finalists.
“I was able to get help from an Adobe expert and they really pushed me over the top to make my logo stand out. Adobe was helpful with the color schemes and helping me be more creative,” said Gourley.
Gourley’s winning logo illustrates the vision of the Lehi Cares Coalition, “A thriving, connected, inclusive community that is committed to continuously nurturing academic achievement, emotional health and multifaceted opportunities for all of our youth – empowering the pioneering leaders of tomorrow, supporting families and maximizing public safety through proactive engagement.”
Gourley is thrilled to have won the contest. As the winner, Gourley was invited to the Lehi City Council meeting where Mayor Mark Johnson presented her with her award.
“I am so happy for this opportunity and that my logo was picked as the winner. I feel like this is a big accomplishment. It was a competitive pool of designs, and it was an amazing competition,” said Gourley.
The top ten finalists were all presented with prizes at the Lehi Cares Coalition meeting and able to participate in the brainstorming session regarding the coalition’s “Parents Empowered” media campaign.
“The Coalition is thrilled with the final logo that the community decided on. I love how the symbols that it uses incorporate the ideas of caring and helping hands coming together and families of all colors, shapes and sizes. I had lots of adults comment on the creativity of the logo and how professional it looks and that they couldn’t have done something like it,” said Frost.
Gourley decided to enter the logo design contest after her teacher at Lehi Junior High School introduced the contest to her students.
“This year in my college and career awareness class, my teacher, Ms. Quintero taught about graphic design, and I thought it was super cool. She also told us about the contest and I thought it would be a cool thing to do, but I wasn’t expecting my design to go this far, or even win,” said Gourley.
The design process was challenging for Gourley as she put in over ten hours to create the winning logo. Through the creative process, she was inspired by the Lehi community.
“When I was deciding about how to make the logo, I thought about what really represents Lehi City. I feel like the community represents Lehi because it’s not the place, it’s the amazing community we have here. If you live in Lehi, I feel like you are lucky to be here and be supported,” she said.
Gourley enhanced her creativity through the logo design contest and learned about the skills it takes to be a graphic designer.
“I learned to really respect designers through this contest. I thought the process was so easy, but it’s not easy, it’s really hard. It is amazing what designers do and the time they take to make things look good for us,” said Gourley.
Gourley’s winning logo will be a permanent part of the Coalition’s marketing and branding materials.
“Lehi Cares is periodically represented throughout Utah County and the State, so the winner’s hard work will get lots of exposure and mileage. It will be a great portfolio item for Elizabeth if she seeks a marketing or graphic design career,” said Frost. “We’re grateful that Elizabeth was willing to put in the time and effort to give us an amazing final product that allows us to really have youth as part of our DNA moving forward.”
