Calling All Creative Minds!
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Whether you're a current student or a proud graduate, here's your chance to make a lasting impact on our school community. We're thrilled to launch the Van Derveer Elementary School and Somerville Middle School Logo Challenge!
Our current logos have been cherished symbols of our schools for years, but itās time to refresh and revitalize them with your creative flair. We're inviting you to design new, original logos that embody the pride, spirit, and unique identity of each school, all while paying homage to our beloved mascots: the Bear for Van Derveer Elementary and the Bulldog for Somerville Middle School. This is an opportunity to showcase your artistic talents and contribute to the legacy of our schools. Let your creativity shine and help us shape the future of our schoolās identity!
The Challenge
Design a new, original Logo for either:
š»Van Derveer Elementary School featuring a bear or
š¶ Somerville Middle School featuring a bulldog.
You can choose to submit designs for one or both schools.
Your Logo design should be:
Original: Completely your own creation.
Representative: Reflect the spirit, values, and energy of the school.
Visually Appealing: Attractive, clear, and easy to understand.
Maintain the Logo: Feature a bear for Van Derveer and a bulldog for Middle School.
Color Usage: For Van Derveer, color must be Yellow (HEX: #ffdd59) and brown, along with black/white. For Somerville Middle School, color must be Red (HEX: #c3112e), along with black/white.
Item(s) that must be displayed: Icon of bear for Van Derveer and a bulldog for Middle School.
What we are looking for:
A high-resolution, original digital design featuring the school logo
Winning designs must be submitted as vector files (preferred: .AI, .EPS, or high-rest .PNG/.PDF)
The artwork must be created by the person submitting, even if they use tools to help bring their vision to life.
Hand-drawn entries must be digitized and recreated as high-resolution artwork. (You can use photopea.com, Procreate, Adobe Illustrator, etc.)
What about AI-Generated Art?
AI can be a powerful tool for brainstorming and supporting your design process. However, any submission must be your original creation ānot something produced entirely by a machine.
Acceptable Uses ā :
Using AI to spark ideas, generate rough drafts, point of reference, or try out different concepts
Editing AI-generated drafts in a meaningful way (redrawing, digitally painting, and altering significantly)
Using AI for layout inspiration or color palette testing
ā Not Allowed:
Submitting artwork that AI entirely generates with no meaningful human input
Using AI to copy or modify existing copyrighted images
Downloading an AI image and submitting it āas-isā
Judging & Selection
Entries will be scored using the rubric below. A committee of administrators, teachers, students, and board members will review the top designs and select one new Logo per school.
There will be one winner per judging group and one overall winner.
Judging Groups:
ā Grades K-2
ā Grades 3-5
ā Grades 6-8
ā Grades 9-12
ā Graduates
Finalists will be vetted for originality. Any mostly or entirely AI-generated submission without significant human modification will be disqualified.
If your design is chosen, the Logo will be property of Somerville School District. Artistic credit will be announced.
Judging Rubric
How To Submit
Email your submission to: villelogo@somervilleschools.org
Due date: June 1, 2025
Subject line: Logo Challenge Submission ā [Your Name]
Please include the following in your email:
Your Full Name
Name at Graduation
(if different from your current name)
Judging Group:
Grades Kā2
Grades 3ā5
Grades 6ā8
Grades 9ā12
Graduates (include your year of graduation)
The School(s) You Are Designing For:
Van Derveer Elementary (VDV)
Somerville Middle School (SMS)
Your Logo Design(s):
Submit a small version (JPG or PNG is fine for initial review)
If selected as a finalist, you must provide a high-resolution vector file (.AI, .EPS, or high-res PDF/PNG)