Embarking on a creative journey, members of Coppell High School’s digital art classes paint color back into Coppell Nature Park’s identity.
The Friends of Coppell Nature is an environmental conservation organization promoting the preservation of the Coppell Nature Park. Collaborating with CHS digital art students, Friends of Coppell board members selected sophomore Arshia Joshi’s design.
“We have oceans of incredible talent in CISD and it was manifested through a variety of different logos,” Friends of Coppell Nature Park board member Teri Keith said.
Keith reached out to CHS art teacher Bennan Fruge, asking if students would be interested in designing a logo to increase marketing efforts.
“I was excited, and I thought it was a great opportunity to have our students create art that could help the community,” Fruge said.
The previous logo, designed 18 years ago, raised questions regarding relevance and accuracy.
“I think the old logo was good, but it didn’t represent where we’re at now,” IB science teacher Holly Anderson said. “Things change and we’ve progressed so much, it’s probably time to update it.”
In the span of three weeks, 29 digital art students split between two separate classes went through a thorough designing process.
The classes brainstormed ideas of what they felt would help promote the Coppell Nature Park, and through multiple rounds of peer feedback, the students each created their own logo. This guided process helped students gain insight on how to approach their logo making.
“Peer review is really helpful,” junior Sahana Peechara said. “I think it enhanced the whole process and allowed me to create the best logo possible because I was able to take in other people’s opinions.”
When creating their logos, students made sure to encompass crucial design elements.
“The things I had to keep in mind were to keep it simple because logos need to look good either big or small, and in color or in black and white,” Peechara said.
Additionally, students gained experience mirroring graphic design processes beyond the classroom.
“This is the real world, this is the way the world works,” Keith said. “Whether you are working for an ad agency or for a private company, it’s real world experience they are gaining.”
Asking high school students to design the logo for the Friends of Coppell Nature Park eliminated financial concerns on funding a new design.
“It was smart of them to partner with the high school because, honestly, a logo design can be expensive,” Fruge said.
After each of the 29 students completed their logos, students and four other CHS teachers voted for the best logo. From this process, nine logos were selected to be submitted to the Friends of Coppell Nature Park board.
Joshi was thrilled to have her logo selected.
“I was excited,” Joshi said. “It opened a new path for me like, maybe I could consider going into graphic design because I really enjoyed it.”
The Friends of Coppell Nature Park hope to display the importance and essence of the Coppell Nature Park through this logo.
“I hope it raises awareness of the Friends of Coppell Nature Park because it’s such a valuable asset in our community,” Keith said.
