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Youth Programs

Gresham High School Student Designs #Virtualandia 2021 Logo

by Charity Yoro

Earlier this year, the Youth Programs team put a call out to students, asking for their help to design this year’s #Virtualandia logo. We received many amazing student responses, each with their own unique styles and immense artistry. Alethea Work at Gresham High School garnered the most responses from students, and from this applicant pool we found ourselves drawn to Lucy Anderson’s work in particular because of the vibrancy of her art, varied mediums, and recent experience designing a logo for her father’s family business. We also learned Lucy was enrolled in an IB art class at Gresham!

Lucy Anderson is a self-taught artist, an aspiring concept artist for a gaming studio, and a current student at Gresham High School. This is her first time showcasing her art on such a large scale. 

Lucy Anderson, designer of the #Virtualandia logo

Her process for creating the #Virtualandia logo began by visiting the website to study the existing logo. “Then I started doodling ideas,” Lucy said. She worked with the Youth Programs team to create a couple different logo options. “For example, the microphone was a bit more stiff in one version,” she explained. “In another, the hashtag placement was different.”

Lucy Anderson designed the #Virtualandia logo and other designs for this year’s slam events
An early design Lucy made of the #Virtualandia logo
Another draft of the #Virtualandia logo by Lucy

Previously, Lucy’s dad hired her to help create a logo for his blog, where he writes movie reviews. And for a class project, Lucy also designed a logo for a fictional business (hers was a cafe). 

“The class project was really fun,” Lucy said. “We also got to create a magazine spread in class. I made one about a video game I really like.” The instructor for the class, she added, was supportive and helped make the class exciting.

Besides logo work, she likes character art, animation, and painting. Lucy cites the concept art in gaming and movies as her main artistic inspirations. “Gris, for example, is a game that has really beautiful art,” Lucy said. She also draws inspiration from the work of YouTube artists Jazza and Drawing with Waffles, as well as Instagram artist LordGris. 

One of Lucy’s #Virtualandia designs

Lucy’s interest in art actually started from watching a video on YouTube. “Then I took a graphic design class in school,” Lucy said, “and I really liked it.” Specifically, she liked the creative freedom in the class to make the assignment her own.

Now, finishing her junior year, Lucy is taking an IB art class. She plans to study design, character art, and/or animation post-graduation. “It’s hard to decide,” she laughed, “there is so much to choose from!”

Lucy has her own small shop on RedBubble, an online marketplace for designers, called LucyCreates, where she sells stickers, posters, and other items.

Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes content and mark your calendar for #Virtualandia on April 29th!

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