By Angela Askey, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer
Central Arizona College (CAC) student Amelia Sheley’s artwork is now featured on Cotton Express buses after she won the City of Coolidge’s logo design competition for its public transit service.
Sheley, a Digital Media Arts major with an emphasis in graphic design, created a logo that reflects Coolidge’s agricultural heritage and public transportation system.
“I chose the piece of cotton to represent the name of the bus and Coolidge’s cotton fields. The road was meant to depict movement and visualize transportation. The colors are like the original logo, with the navy blue and copper color scheme having perfect contrast,” Sheley said.
The competition invited community members to create a logo that would strengthen Cotton Express’s identity and encourage ridership.
“The goal of our competition was to develop a new Cotton Express logo that not only reflected our community, but came from it directly,” said Erik Heet, finance director for the City of Coolidge. “While we received some quality logos from the public, the majority of the CAC students’ logos fared well in our contest and comprised each of our top five options. The group of students involved did a great job on our project.”
The competition gave CAC students an opportunity to apply their classroom skills to a real-world project, with CAC students accounting for the majority of the city’s top five logo selections.
“I was thrilled and surprised to find out that my design was chosen,” Sheley said. “I knew there had to be many other wonderful designs, so I was very appreciative to know that people were drawn to mine.”
Heet credited communication with Sue Tatterson, CAC professor of Digital Media Arts, along with feedback from the Transit Advisory Committee and city leadership, for helping bring the project together.
Sheley explains that coursework in design fundamentals, color theory, traditional art techniques and art history have helped her develop skills she can apply to real-world projects. Outside the classroom, she enjoys illustrating original characters and creating stories using patterns and shapes that contribute to her unique style.
Sheley offered the following advice to other students interested in design competitions: “Do your best, don’t overthink it, and trust the process. Your ideas might have more of an impact than you expect.”
After graduation, Sheley plans to transfer to Arizona State University and explore freelance graphic design opportunities.
