CORTLAND DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION (DEI) LOGO

Challenge: Design an internal-only logo to represent Cortland’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI).

Process: Several graphic designers were able to submit initial design concepts. For my design options, I focused on the following goals:

• Represent Cortland by using company colors or integrating a part of the logo
• Show how all associates, no matter their background, can work towards the same goal
• Must work with or without the DEI tagline

Once submitted, one of my design ideas was chosen and went through further revisions with the DEI team.

Solution: The final design checks off all of the goals I set, using the triangular pattern in Cortland colors to represent all the different associate backgrounds working together. This pattern is set behind the “CP” portion of the Cortland logo to ensure the connection with the company.

Illustrator

CORTLAND ASSOCIATE RESOURCE GROUP (ARG) LOGOS

Challenge: A year after Cortland’s DEI initiative was launched, Associate Resource Groups (ARGs) were formed to help hear from associates and give them a place to speak.

Process: In order for the individual logos to all work together, I worked with the DEI team on a template to use for each ARG logo so we could keep the design process shorter by reducing the rounds of revisions.

From here, I created a logo intake form for ARG Chairs to provide information about their specific ARG, including: the meaning of their chosen name, colors and imagery that they believe represent their group, and anything they wanted me to avoid.

With this information, I would provide several pattern options and have the group narrow it down from there.

Illustrator

THE COALITION (BLACK ARG)

Name Meaning: A group of individuals combined in action to support a mutual cause.

Request: Hands in various shades of brown coming together.

Solution: Using their request as a starting point, I was unable to use different connecting hands since it was too busy for the small shape I had to work with. Instead, I created a shape that would bring all the shades of brown to one center point. This helps represent all the Black associates and their mutual cause.

CONÉCTATE (HISPANIC/LATINO ARG)

Name Meaning: To connect in Spanish.

Request: Colors and imagery of the various flags of south and central America.

Solution: Several options were provided, but ultimately we landed on a simplified version of colors and pattern to represent the Hispanic/Latino culture by using colors that are typically used in the architecture of those areas.

EMPOWHER (WOMEN ARG)

Name Meaning: Empowering women to be their best and reach their goals.

Request: Colors of eggplant, gold, and white.

Solution: Slight adjustments had to be made since we couldn’t use white in our final design because of the “CP” symbol. Instead purple and gold were used to better align with the Women’s Suffrage Flag. For the pattern, I wanted to loosely represent the many different types of curves of a woman, while still being abstract.