Syosset resident’s design chosen for anniversary logo

Catherine Johnson of Syosset designed the logo which was selected to celebrate SUNY Old Westbury’s 60th anniversary.

Campus pride is expected to be extra high this academic year as SUNY Old Westbury looks back across its history and hosts special events, exhibitions and more while celebrating the institution’s 60th anniversary.

One student in particular also might be walking a bit taller after having her design selected to serve as the anniversary year’s official logo.

Catherine Johnson, a junior adolescence education: mathematics major from Syosset,  had her logo design selected as the official emblem for the campus’ anniversary year.

Large interlocking numbers creating the number 60 in green with smaller, gray text reading SUNY Old Westbury and superimposed over a gray illustration of a stand of trees.

With large, interlocking numbers that form “60” along with the silhouette of the stand of trees featured on the campus’ official logo, Johnson’s work earned first place in a competition that began last spring. The two other finalist designs were both created by visual arts major Sydney Eckstein.

“It was kind of surprising,” said Johnson of her selection. “I saw the second and third place submissions had more detail, and mine was simpler. To me, for a logo, you want it to be something simple and distinct. You want people to be able to recognize it easily and that’s what I wanted to create.”

Johnson entered the contest while enrolled in Graphic Design 1 taught by Associate Professor of Visual Arts Patricia Harris, who coordinated the contest and worked with the students to take their work from concept to design. But Johnson’s interest in art and design started well before that.

“Art has always been a hobby for me,” she said, noting that she took art classes throughout high school even after having fulfilled her requirements. “I have been drawing for as long as I can remember and am really into design and fashion.”

With a focus on becoming a middle school teacher, Johnson is already thinking about how her interest in art and design might inform her future work.

“When most people think about math and art, they see them as opposites where math is more ‘technical’ and art is more ‘free,’” she said. “For me, being interested in both math and art, it helps me look at things from different perspectives. I think if that relationship helps me to be able to understand what others are thinking, that same relationship might help me help others learn and understand.”