Forest Road students learn that art is everywhere

Corporate logos are popular icons in society and sixth-graders at Forest Road School recently explored how those designs come about.

Art teacher Colette Giardella had students select a known corporate symbol, then redesign it to learn how it takes the right combination of shape and color to create an effective logo. Children chose symbols of automobile makers, sneakers, fast food restaurants, technology companies, household products, stores and more.

“The purpose was to really get a feel for what pop art is about,” Giardella said, “and to see how corporate our world is. We identify so many companies and products by symbols and images.”

It all began by studying about Andy Warhol, famous for his pop art. He is well-known for his paintings of iconic American products including a Campbell’s soup can and a Coca-Cola bottle. Then students spent the next month creating their own interpretations of popular corporate symbols.

The sixth-graders had to create nine alternate logos using different color schemes and on different backgrounds. Giardella said the students learned that some of their alternatives wouldn’t be effective as logos because the designs didn’t stand out. The process taught them how to problem solve, she explained.

Aubrey Luna redesigned the logo for Target stores. Two of her creations were based on holidays — Christmas and Halloween. Gabrielle Sing choose the Mitsubishi logo because she said there were lots of possibilities for other designs. She said she doesn’t know much about the car company, but the Mitsubishi logo caught her eye.

Liza Poserio chose the logo for Apple computers. She said the company’s symbol is very plain — a silver apple with a bite out of it — so she felt she could spice it up. “I wanted to put in different colors to make it pop,” Liza said. “You can just take a basic logo and change it to what you want if you’re expressive and creative.”

Pepsi is one of Christopher Vera’s favorite soft drinks so he chose that logo to redesign. He changed the color scheme of the circle each time, but focused more on the backgrounds. Christopher said that he thinks it is easy to create a corporate logo as long as one is willing to be creative.

Giardella said she hopes that students learned that there are many career opportunities in art, even if not in the traditional sense. She also said that artists need to think outside of the box. For example, she said, the Google logo designers are constantly coming up with new looks for the Web site’s home page. “Like when it was the Olympics,” she said, “there was always a different sport portrayed in the Google sign.”

Overall, Giardella said the sixth-graders really understood the purpose of the assignment and worked hard on their projects. “I think they really did a fantastic job,” she said. “It really connected with them because a lot of these products they use in everyday life. It was very personal to them.”

The students’ work will be on display at Forest Road School during the district art exhibit on May 18 from 7:30 to 9 p.m.