As the Oct. 8 presidential debate approaches, many in the University community are getting involved, including the student body .
The trio of graphic design students in the School of Art, who graduated in May, — Jessica Sonkin (from Washington Township, N.J.), Victoria Caldwell (Paducah, Ky.) and Ilana Breziner (San Diego) — designed the two logos below for the debate. Seniors Nyla Batts and Meredith Nadler, also in the School of Art, designed commemorative items — posters, lapel pins, buttons, tote bags, and T-shirts — while working as graphic design interns for the University’s Publications Department.
“I think this restates the University’s commitment to getting students involved in as many aspects of the debate as possible,” said Steven J. Givens, assistant to the chancellor and chair of the Debate Committee. “As they have done in the past, our graphic design students have come up with wonderful designs.”
The University’s Debate Committee approached Create Studio in the School of Art and asked faculty advisers Douglas Dowd, professor of illustration, and Heather Corcoran, assistant professor of graphic design, to put together a team of students to design the debate logo, Givens said.
The team came up with a number of designs and the committee chose two, which have been approved by the Commission on Presidential Debates.
One design is influenced by the stars on the United States flag; the other by the stripes.
The stars motif, in a square shape, will be used for buttons, pins and T-shirts, which are already available for purchase at the Campus Store.
The stripes design, incorporated into two of the E’s in “Presidential Debate,” is horizontal and will be used for banners and signs.
Both versions of the logo include “Commission on Presidential Debates” and the eagles from the commission’s logo, as well as the name of the University and the date of the debate.
Nadler said the debate experience has personalized the election for her. She was excited to design buttons for students to wear and happy to be part of such an important event.
For more information on the debate, visit news-info.wustl.edu/debate/