Governor’s Office taps ’23 grad Paige Alana Bowermaster for logo redesign
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Thursday, September 21st, 2023
When Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s office needed a redesign of its Next Generation Commission logo, they wanted to turn to a designer who would have a personal affiliation with the subject.
Paige Alana Bowermaster ’23, Graphic Design, got the call.
Bowermaster says the experience drew on skills she’s not only developing in her job, but also on the processes she refined during her years at PCA&D.
We talked with Bowermaster about this experience, and how her interpretation of the project’s requirements shaped the final outcome:
How did this assignment for Gov. Shapiro land on your desk? What were the parameters for it, or were you just told to go for it?
Paige Alana Bowermaster: Natalie Chambers, the web associate for the Office of Gov. Shapiro, emailed me and said that they were looking for local graphic designers to redesign the Governor’s Commission logos, and wanted to find designers that had a personal affiliation for the commission they were designing for. For example, for the Next Generation Commission, they wanted a young designer that was a part of that next generation! Natalie mentioned that, when looking at my work, she felt I would be a perfect fit to design their Next Generation Commission logo. I then got to work with the Director of the Next Gen Commission, Ruby Mundok, on refining the design.
The parameters were to design a logo that communicated aspects of the Commission, and they wanted me to put my own creative interpretation into it. The only stipulation was that it had to use the keystone shape, the commonwealth’s keystone state icon, within the design. I was only to design the visual logo; the governor’s office added the type to the logo after I sent it over to them.
Where did you look for inspiration and what was your brainstorming process? Was that something you learned and/or refined at PCA&D?
PAB: As a young designer in Pennsylvania I feel it is my mission to create authentic representation within my work, especially for the next generation of artists, designers, and visual thinkers. We are a group of of innovative, collaborative, creative individuals and the choices behind my logo design for the Next Generation Commission aim to represent those qualities. Using the brightest colors from the governor’s brand guidelines I chose to use a combination of orange, blue, and yellow to represent the dynamic, passionate, and bold characteristics that this generation showcases on a daily basis. The contrasting colors are a representation of the change that this generation will bring, not only to Pennsylvania but to the world as a whole — even if it means speaking out to make change and create advocacy — hence contrast. Meanwhile, I designed an arrow to visually communicate the idea of innovation, the future, and moving forward in a positive direction!
Skills that I learned from PCA&D that I used when designing this logo were how I approached the process. I started with concept sketches and then sent those to Ruby. Where she replied to me with her changes, I then refined the sketches and sent over color concepts where more critique was given until we refined it to a point where it was perfect. The process I used in my organization from sketch to final I learned from my amazing PCA&D professors in the Graphic Design Department!
Have you seen your design being used yet?
PAB: Yes! My design is being used on all of the Next Generation collateral. You can see it being used live on the Next Gen Instagram page: @panextgeneration