The Richards Basement is meant to be a place where artists of all backgrounds can come together to teach, share, learn, and make art, However, before we could truly make that vision come to life, we needed one thing—a logo. As a graphic design student at the County College of Morris, I have the exciting task of creating some potential logos. This presented yet another opportunity for me to capture the feel of an organization; especially one that we hope to be deeply rooted in the community soon. That said, we wanted the final choice of the logo to be made by the community.
To start, I began by sketching a couple concepts out. As I explored these ideas more and more, switching colors and fonts, I was able to come up with four different styles that each represent The Richards Basement and its mission in some way shape or form. For each of the four designs, I ended up with 6-12 variations of each, and then refined the designs before narrowing it down to the final four. This led to us having a contest for the four logos.
The contest was a key feature during Dover Art Week, where we showcased the four different logo designs. We set up a voting station at the entrance of our events throughout the week, allowing attendees to be part of the process. Visitors could view the logos as soon as they walked in, and vote on the design they felt was the nicest, and best captured the spirit of The Richards Basement. It was thrilling to see how many people took the time to vote, and the diversity of opinions made the contest even more interesting.
As votes came in, it became clear that the Richards Basement community was just as invested in this project as we were.
With just over 100 votes counted, the competition was extremely close with lots of suggestions to add color to the winning logo, #4. It would not only represent the space but also reflect the collective voice of the artists and art lovers who helped shape it. In the end, the contest wasn’t just about choosing a logo—it was about creating a visual identity that the community could rally behind and feel proud of.
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