In the past, committees, contests and advertising agencies have been used to create the theme for the annual Eugene Celebration, but not this year.
A group of University advertising students created this year’s theme, “Northwest of Normal.”
Through a class in the journalism school called Advertising Campaigns, Kim Sheehan, assistant journalism professor, said the students design an ad campaign for a particular client.
This spring, the class chose Downtown Events Management, Inc., the Eugene Celebration organizers.
“When Kim asked me if I would be interested in her class preparing ads for us, I said ‘fabulous’,” said president and managing director of DEMI, Steven Remington. “I’ve had positive experiences with students from other universities with similar projects, so I thought it was a great idea.”
Seven teams worked on the campaign, which involved creating themes and poster designs.
In the end, the A team’s project won out with its “Northwest of Normal” design, which Remington said reflects the distinct personality of Eugene residents.
“They’re Northwesterners, but they’re not your average person,” he said.
The poster design also reflects the feel of the Northwest.
“The theme was brought to our studio and I tried to conceptualize something that would feel like Eugene,” poster designer Jennifer Andrews said. “I played off the trees in our state, as well as the party feel and face painting of the Eugene Celebration … [we used] something to attract children and families.”
The poster will be displayed as the logo for this year’s Celebration, which takes place Sept. 15-17 in downtown Eugene.