Somerville Preservation Committee Gets Logo Help From High Schoolers

SOMERVILLE, MA – Six high school seniors in Somerville have made a lasting impression on their hometown. Graphic Design & Visual Communications students Dylan Alvarado, Anthony Araujo-Amaral, Steven Bates, Augusto Oliveira Da Silva, Michael Rosenberger and Manny Santiago are the minds behind the Community Preservation Committee's newest logo.

The students worked closely with CPC members to create a logo that captured the committee's spirit.

"The future of Somerville belongs to our youngest residents, and we saw the logo project as an opportunity to both spread the word about the work of the Community Preservation Act (CPA) and to engage and celebrate the talent and energy of our teens," Liz Duclos-Orsello, CPC member and chair of the logo sub-committee, said in a statement. "It is with gratitude that we thank them and Ms. Braga for their seriousness of purpose, their professionalism, and the final product, which is truly a unique reflection of this wonderfully dynamic city."

The logo marries affordable housing, historic preservation, open space and outdoor recreation land projects, all initiatives that may be funded by the CPA. One image represents Prospect Hill Tower, renovated in 2015 using CPA funds; another represents 45 new units of affordable housing created under the CPA; a third depicts a bicycle on a path, representing the repaving of the Community Path this year; and the fourth signifies proposed funding for the Blessing of the Bay Boathouse Park.

"The CPA in Somerville is, I believe, a model of how the funding can be used to broaden the idea of who has a stake in the city's future," Duclos-Orsello said in a release. "Part of this approach has been a commitment to increasing the range of voices and perspectives 'at the table' at each step of our work. It was in this spirit that we reached out to the graphic design students at Somerville High School, rather than to a more traditional graphic design consultant, to help us create a unique logo for CPA funded projects."

Image via City of Somerville