Studio art major Rebecca DeLong’s logo designs were selected by Alabama historians and archivists to represent an important new statewide project that will make researching Alabama history a little bit easier.
Cassandra Palmer’s Digital Layout and Production students participated in a competition to create a logo identity for the Civil War & Reconstruction Era Governors of Alabama Papers 1857-1882. The project is a collaboration between The University of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Archives and History to create a scholarly digital edition of historic documents having to do with the governors who held office from the time of secession, through the Civil War and Reconstruction and into the time of Jim Crow laws and the reclamation of power by white Southern Democrats. The Alabama Department of Archives and History will scan nearly 70,000 documents now in their collections and the UA Department of History will oversee the transcription, editing and annotation of the documents. The collection will become a vital resource for the public, including teachers, students, scholars and genealogists.
DeLong earned a BA in 2021 with a double major in marketing and studio art. She was also on the design team for the Black Belt Artist Project and was the recipient of the Elizabeth B. Bashinsky Endowed Art Scholarship in 2019.
The directors of UA’s part of the project, Dr. Lesley Gordon and Dr. Julia Brock, said, “Collaborating with Professor Palmer and her class has been a wonderful experience. We were impressed with all of the students’ designs. Rebecca’s logo captured essential qualities of the project, and we and our archivist partners are thrilled to have her design as our ‘brand’.”
Professor Palmer said the opportunity for her students to participate in the logo competition was an invaluable experience by providing some insight into what a client like this might be looking for in a logo. “At the end, each student will have a ‘real-world’ project to include in their portfolio that potential employers like to see. It is beneficial to everyone with a positive reflection on the University.”
For more information about The University of Alabama’s programs in art history and studio art, visit our Degree Programs page.