Attallah Student Designs New Logo for Jordan Academy

Jordan Academy of Language and Computer Science logo designed by Nicole Williams ’20

Nicole Williams ’20, a third-year Chapman undergraduate double majoring in Integrated Educational Studies and Psychology and minoring in Spanish, recently collaborated with a local elementary school on the creation of its new logo. This fall, Jordan Academy of Language and Computer Science will be implementing a two-way Spanish immersion program in combination with a computer science program. Nicole’s logo can now be found throughout the school community and is featured on the school’s website, flyers, and social media.

Jordan Academy’s Principal Lorena Rubio stated that “the logo has created an excitement of special recognition as a school and for our students. As a school, our logo makes us stand out.”

The new logo for Jordan incorporates symbols for language and technology that capture its new immersion and computer science program beginning in Fall 2019. The hand-drawn letters are quite notable. Although Nicole could have created the letters using computer text, the hand-drawn elements are symbolic of the school’s family and student-centered environment.

Nicole was connected to Jordan by a Chapman IES alumna and current MACI (Master of Arts in Curriculum and Instruction) student teaching at the school. (Chapman’s MACI program is an accelerated program in the Attallah College of Educational Studies that allows for the completion of a bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and a California teaching credential within 5 years.)

For this month’s Attallah College Undergraduate Student Newsletter, we spoke with Nicole about her experience.

How did you hear about this opportunity?
I heard about this opportunity through an IES student who graduated last year. She knew I liked to draw and design things on my iPad, so she reached out to me asking if I was interested in designing a new logo for Jordan Academy. They were trying to rebrand themselves as a dual-immersion school and wanted a logo to represent that.

Promising Futures logo

First Gen Ambassadors logo

How would you describe your artistic background and style?
I do not have much graphic design experience or formal design education. I just like to do it on my own for fun. In high school, I took a ceramics class that incorporated drawing, and I ended up really liking it. That is probably what inspired me to continue art. I have also been doing calligraphy since my freshman year of college. This past fall, I also designed a logo for Chapman’s first generation program, Promising Futures, and this spring I created the logo for a new club on campus called First Gen Ambassadors.

What was your approach and philosophy to the design of the logo? What was the creative process like?
The original design came very easily to me—it was the revisioning I did throughout the process that took more time. I know I am better at calligraphy than I am just drawing animals, so I already knew it was going to be mostly handwriting. I also realized that you can’t make a logo by writing a few words on a page, so they gave me their mascot to work with, and I decided to give a shape to my writing. In the end, I got to play with spaces and added some small doodles to symbolize the dual-immersion aspect. Overall, it took about three hours.

Jordan Academy flyer with new logo designed by Nicole Williams ’20

How does it feel to see your logo being used all over the school?
I was intimidated at first; it’s crazy! They have my logo on their website and fliers. I also just assumed they would use my writing as a rough sketch and then add their own text, but they used my actual handwriting. It’s weird to see my handwriting everywhere and know that so many people are seeing it every day, but it is also very cool.

What advice would you give to other Attallah College students on how to combine one’s skills, talents, and interests with educational issues?
You should always keep in mind what Attallah College stresses: education occurs everywhere, not just the classroom. You can really combine anything with education if you work for it.

Excerpt from the Attallah College Undergraduate Student Newsletter. 

Gillian Coan is a sophomore IES major (Teaching and Learning in Schools Emphasis) and a Language & Literacy minor at Chapman University.

Jane Gore is a senior IES major (Teaching and Learning in the Community Emphasis) and a Language & Literacy minor at Chapman University.