UC Clermont student designs logo for Cincinnati Philharmonic Orchestra

When the Cincinnati Philharmonic Orchestra decided it was time to redesign its logo as part of a rebrand, they reached out for fresh ideas — to UC Clermont College students.

Formerly the Clermont Philharmonic Orchestra, the organization wanted to redesign their logo in spring 2018 to reflect their new focus. “We wanted a design that would work well in color and black-and-white, a design that represents a modern outlook,” said Allison Jones of the Cincinnati Philharmonic Orchestra.

Gregory Sojka, professor and former dean of UC Clermont, serves on the orchestra’s board of directors and felt like the rebranding offered a potential experiential learning opportunity for UC Clermont students. “We knew this would give students an actual project to work on, a real-world experience that they can’t learn from a textbook,” said Sojka.

Sojka reached out to Professor Andy Curran, whose digital media students designed and presented new logo ideas to the orchestra as part of their illustration class. The top designs received cash prizes, but the logo designed by sophomore Chris Kaylor stood out in particular.

“Chris' initial design intrigued us,” Jones said. “We contacted him and asked if he was open to tweaking it to give it a more progressive look. And did he deliver! The CPO board is very impressed with the final logo design. From the colors Chris chose to the flowing nature of his design, he delivered everything we asked.”