Personal Logos (8th)

Often my middle school students have an opinion that art is just drawing and painting from some old dead people. This project really helps bring art to their world. We learn what logos are, who makes them, and then they make their own.

Students Learn/Practice
--Power of Art
--Brainstorming
--Formatting
--Mounting
--Composition

I start this lesson out by giving a PowerPoint presentation. Each slide has one logo -- it generally takes only one slide for the student to start shouting out the companies of these products. At the end of the slide I ask them how they knew what those symbols meant. Many don't have words -- though a few do. They generally don't have an answer for me. I go on to explain that that is the power of art -- that they as consumers don't need the words to know where the McDonald's is or if a shirt your friend is wearing is NIKE. The companies have taught you their symbol. I then go on to talk about graphic designers and that people get paid good money to come up with these logos -- that is it a real world, real paying art job.

Next the students do a set of brainstorming activities with their personal initials so that they can come up with an original logo for themselves. Once the students brainstorm they are to take their favorite idea and bend it into different forms -- thus learning how to format. This is generally tough for the students because it changes their original idea. I tell them they don't have to use it if they don't like it, so just try... and often they find a shape they liked better.

The students then use final paper to place their logos. They color as they wish, cut out and mount of paper color of their choice. Often after this assignment they either make a stamp of their logo or a printing block of their logo.