Vol 🍊

Designed this a little while back, but it's starting to catch more steam here on campus. Figured I'd post a little bts and pieces that were og to the project.

Sketch > Final > Initial Swag

This is such an iconic saying around here, so when I was tasked to create something for our first CommuniCon, a conference for communicators here on UT's campus, I wanted to tackle creating something fun and celebratory for people to both wear and have on their walls. I pulled in some notable inspiration and started drawing it up in my sketchbook. It's been so long ago that I actually don't remember how long it took me to cook up but I do remember that as I got going I knew I had something. 

From there I placed the sketch in Adobe Illustrator and got to cooking. As you can see below initially Smokey was going to be on the right, but I ended up replacing him with the Tochbearer; something you don't hear often around here. It's hard to replace Smokey. I was young those 4 years ago 😆. 

After getting approval from my boss, we put them on a shirt and a poster and the rest is history. From there, there were a few instances where we could place it on something over the next 4 years, but it wasn't until someone placed it on a flag that this image really started to organically make waves on campus. 

It really has a life of its own, sometimes it's cool to see what others place this design on, while other times it can be a little cringe. Either way, I'm happy that it's being used. Who would have thought this would be a legacy piece for me.

Marcus Williamson
Senior Graphic Designer for the University of Tennessee

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