Shelly Michalski, winner of design logo competition for Innovate ABQ℠ and her logo
Albuquerque, NM – July 24, 2014 Shelly Michalski believes her brain works best when she’s in the design mode. So, she was up for the challenge when she received an email that went out to School of Architecture & Planning students advertising a logo design competition that best represents the image of Innovate ABQ℠, UNM’s community initiative to develop an innovation district in downtown Albuquerque. Needless to say Shelly was very happy when she learned recently that her submission was chosen as the winning design. “I really enjoy taking abstract images and relating them to a subject or idea to come up with something that embodies the whole concept. Graphic design is one of my main interests, so the competition appealed to me.” Shelly also received $200 cash prize for winning the competition.
An Albuquerque native and graduate of St. Pius High School, Shelly received a BA in Environmental Planning & Design at the School of Architecture & Planning. She was a graduate student in the Community & Regional Planning program but has transferred into the Landscape Architecture master’s program and will start in the fall. “I really do like physical design and trying to create more desirable, habitable places and I think the landscape architecture program is a better fit for me,” she explained.
The competition was co-sponsored by STC.UNM, the University’s technology transfer and economic development organization, the School of Architecture & Planning, the School of Fine Arts, and the ARTS Digital Media Lab. Shelly did research on urban planning and visited the STC website to learn more about the project. She was particularly drawn to Innovate ABQ℠’s “live-work-play” theme. She explains: “New urbanism, an urban design movement which basically promotes a walkable, livable community where all of the amenities for urban life are present, is what I associated with ‘live-work-play.’ The approach is sustainable, conserves energy, creates jobs and provides creative, entertainment and leisure activities. Millennials are attracted to bigger cities because they see them as creative hotspots.”
STC CEO Lisa Kuuttila, who is the University’s facilitator for Innovate ABQ, stated: “Shelly’s design has a clean, modern look that we think captures the spirit of innovation. It will be used as the initial theme for the Innovate ABQ℠ project as it evolves. We think it has great design elements that will work well for the logo.”
Source: STC.UNM
For more information, contact:
Denise Bissell
(505) 272-7310
dbissell@stc.unm.edu