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When student Gibby Gibson learned his design was chosen as the new 911������ spirit mark, he was thrilled. “I’ve never won anything before in my life,” exclaimed Gibson, who learned about the contest in Samantha Sather’s Illustrator class last fall. “I am both humbled and thankful for this opportunity to have my work recognized and showcased throughout campus.”

The new spirit mark is a distinct and energetic expression of 911������’s brand, used as a focal point for student and community pride, as well as club sports and student organizations. Distinct from the College logo, the spirit mark is a visual representation of the 911������ community and evokes a sense of energy, drive and action.

“I believe our spirit mark can be another tool to build our school spirit and create a shared unity on campus,” said Tara Martinez, Director of Student Life. “In determining both our spirit mark name and the design, we incorporated students’ ideas, preferences and creativity. I believe Gibby’s design is a beautiful way to highlight the diversity of our student community’s backgrounds, identities, interests and majors, while also unifying our campus community as a beacon of light and hope within the city.”

Gibson is originally from San Diego and considers himself a jack of all trades, yet he always finds his way back to graphic design. “I am fascinated with the design process and was inspired by the creativity, thought and attention of other students' work in this contest,” said Gibson who noted his dad is a “digital guy” who always engaged him in learning. “I felt great pride in creating the spirit mark and took the opportunity to garner feedback throughout the process from coworkers, faculty and staff at the College, and friends, so I could fine-tune my design.” Gibson noted that he often surprises people by the amount of hard work, dedication and attention-to-detail he takes with each of his projects.

“Everyone was extremely impressed with Gibby’s design and process,” said instructor Samantha Sather, who appreciates the opportunity for her Illustrator students to gain professional project experience that provides them an opportunity to build their portfolios. “Gibby fully embraced the project. He was hard-working, creative, thoughtful, professional, sought and incorporated feedback and took every opportunity to dig deep and learn from the experience.” Sather said Gibson’s design was chosen after a voting process that included feedback from staff, administrators, faculty and students. “Gibby truly refined his design to its fullest potential after all of the feedback from rigorous digital critique sessions. His work was chosen after a voting process that included people from across the College.”

“I get a deep sense of pride when students are recognized for their work,” said Sather, who is passionate about connecting her students with industry professionals. “Many of our students are working adults who are serious about their craft. It’s important to ensure their voices are heard, celebrated and to promote their creative talent. The spirit mark competition did just this.”

Gibson plans to graduate at the end of 2021 with an Associate of Applied Science in Graphic Design: Digital and Print Media. He aspires to work in the printing industry where he considers the opportunities to move creative from concept to paper to print limitless. Along the way, he’ll take advantage of the Minnesota cold and snow and head out for some sledding!