By: Alyssa Ochss | St. Clair Shores Sentinel | Published February 16, 2024
ST. CLAIR SHORES — The Shorewood Kiwanis, in collaboration with Macomb Community College, announced the winners for the Harper Charity Cruise logo design contest on Feb. 9.
The winning students are Nicole Renaud in first place, Kieontae Warren in second place and Dana Eckert in third place. First, second and third place won a cash prize in the amount of $1,000, $650 and $350, respectively. The money was awarded by both the Shorewood Kiwanis and the Foren Family Foundation.
Deanna Sheehan, a professor of collaborative media and communicative arts at MCC, said this is the first project she gives her class at the beginning of the year. Due to snow days, the project had to be fast tracked this time.
The design class is the last class in the design and layout program before they reach the finish line. Other projects they complete during the year include designing a Coke can based on a movement of art history, designing a hero image for a coffee mug and designing a food truck concept, including a menu and the logo.
For the Harper Charity Cruise logo, the students were limited to six colors, they were not allowed to use gradients and they had to learn how to use spot colors. They had to use a Mustang on the logo as it is the famous Ford car’s 60th anniversary this year. Last year, the featured car was a Woody.
“There’s a lot of rules that they have to follow,” Sheehan said. “And it’s like a real client job, which is what I think they enjoyed.”
Sheehan also said the entire class gets the T-shirt with the logo on it as well. She is really proud of the students.
“All three winners and all the other 14 people who submitted, they just all did a great job,” Sheehan said. “They just impressed the heck out of me. They made Shorewood’s job really hard in picking the top three winners.”
Associate Dean of Engineering and Advanced Technology Mark Jewett was also present at the event.
Scott Holmes, president of the Shorewood Kiwanis, said the process of choosing a logo for the cruise is really exciting.
“Because it gets us actively involved with our community and allows us to really just kind of get the Kiwanis name out there and what we do,” Holmes said.
He also said it’s a good experience for the students at the college.
The Shorewood Kiwanis connected with the college 10 years ago to create the design contest. It provides the students with a scholarship and gives them opportunities to show their creativity, Holmes said.
“It was a way for us to kind of give back,” Holmes said. “We’re all about helping children from diapers to adults. So it helps us provide back to somebody that’s helping us.”
All three winners are design and layout students.
Eckert, 22, who also studies motion design and 3D animation, has always loved cars even as a child and said that the project was exciting and remarkable.
“I enjoyed every tidbit of it, every moment of it,” Eckert said. “I enjoyed this project very well.”
Warren, 23, also a graphic design student, said she loved working on the project, but she was very nervous.
“Getting to it was tiring. It was stressful,” Warren said. “But you know once I got the colors together and once I got the car made it was like making a painting. It was easy to do once I got to it.”
Renaud, 40, said she loved working on the project and that she has always loved cars. She visits the Harper Charity Cruise, and other cruises.
“I loved it, actually,” Renaud said. “I was very excited about it because I heard it was coming up since I was in Design 2 last semester.”
Renaud also has an old Mustang. She said she was going to go retro for the logo but since it’s the 60th anniversary, she went with a classic vehicle.
Amy O’Brien-Kravitz, new vehicle sales manager at Roy O’Brien Ford, said they’ve been a part of the cruise from the beginning.
“I can tell you every year it does get bigger and better,” O’Brien-Kravitz said. “And (a) huge thank you to the Shorewood Kiwanis.”
Holmes said he thinks others should get involved with their community.
“We’re all people on this earth and we try to help each other and part of that is being active in your community,” Holmes said.
The Harper Charity Cruise is Aug. 28, which is the last Wednesday in August.