“I got straight goosebumps during this meeting,” student Ava Peters shared. “It was the first time I really felt like an organization believed in The Northway Group [TNG] because of how professional and respectful this process was with Stearns County.”
Goosebumps are warranted when something you’ve had a hand in creating will be around for years to come and in such a widespread capacity.
Last September, Marketing & Design instructor Sheryl Workman received an email from the Procurement Manager for Stearns County with a scope of work for a logo refresh project.
“I was in disbelief they found us, let alone wanted to work with us,” noted Workman. “But I didn’t want to miss out on the potential opportunity.”
Workman immediately worked with TNG’s Lead Account Executive, Andie Walz, who followed up. After submitting their proposal, Stearns County connected a couple weeks later and said they wanted to proceed.
Peters was the liaison between TNG and Stearns County, making sure deadlines were being met and answering any questions. Emma Revermann was the designer and tasked with simplifying their current logo to ensure its use across multiple platforms.
This project took 10 months, longer than other projects TNG works on, but the process was similar to others.
- First, 20 students from TNG met via Zoom with ten county leaders to learn more about what they were looking for and to ask questions. TNG also took a tour of county buildings downtown to research and brainstorm.
- After that, the designers had two weeks to work on a design concept for thei first round of critiques, followed by one week to make updates and changes.
- The final designs were shared with the county, who narrowed it down to three designs they liked with changes.
- Stearns County narrowed it down to one design after multiple rounds of discussion and edits, followed by minor changes through the spring semester.
On June 9, Peters and Revermann, both graduates of the program by that point, presented at the Board of Commissioners meeting with Workman by their side.
“I don’t think any of us estimated how big of a deal this was going to be,” Workman said. “We did not go into it realized there was going to be a motion to approve at the meeting. Once it was approved, we were all excited to knows the logo is officially happening.”
While TNG has worked with large clients, there was something that seemed much bigger about the Stearns County logo. Knowing that something potentially will be seen by thousands is not just an accomplishment for Revermann as the designer, but for TNG and SCTCC.
“The empowerment that a class can give you from real-world experience that some colleges don’t offer until you’re out in the workforce is so commendable,” Peters shared. “I’m always excited to brag about The Northway Group.”
