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Foundation
Contest Winds to a Close with Winning Logo Plainfield resident Shane Sims created the winning design in the Naperville Riverwalk Foundation's logo contest. An electrician by trade, he dabbles in design as a hobby. "I was totally surprised and totally honored by it," Sims said. "I didn't think I had a chance." The new logo features a predominant shepherd's crook, which is the distinctive shape of the light poles along the Riverwalk. "I think we're all just real tickled with it," said Jo Lundeen, co-chair of the contest. Sims came up with the idea, he said, when he asked himself what is indicative of the Riverwalk. "The shepherd's crook was the first thing that came to mind," he said. While he started work on the logo by including many elements of the area, including the covered bridge, he eventually whittled the design down to just the crook and the water, Sims said. "It's a real simple design. The way he has the river winding up in (the) distance kind of gives it life," Lundeen said. "He had all the elements we were looking for." The logo is accompanied by the tag line "A path for future generations." "We really thought that was appropriate too," Lundeen said. The Riverwalk Foundation received 42 entries for its logo contest, which marks the first time the foundation has ever had a logo. "We really needed something that was consistent, clean and easy to use and that was distinctively ours," Lundeen said. When sending letters from the foundation, Lundeen found herself adding a photo of the Riverwalk onto the page. The new logo will now replace that on the foundation's stationery. "He really says what we're looking for," Lundeen said. Contest entries were submitted by both artists and hobbyists, she said. When the contest was announced last month, the foundation sent letters to area high schools, colleges, art groups, businesses and individuals. One entry came all the way from Denmark, where an artist found the contest information on the Internet. "It was so much fun and just amazing to see them all," Lundeen said. Among the submissions was a packet of 14 entries created by the Digital Art I class at Naperville Central High School. "That was just astounding," Lundeen said. "What a neat project to have a group of high school kids involved in." While Sims has created a few designs for family and friends in the past, this was his first attempt at a logo for professional use. A regular visitor to Naperville's Riverwalk, he said he is honored to have his logo chosen, especially by a group he admires. "That makes it all the more worthwhile for me," he said. Naperville Riverwalk Foundation will officially launch its new logo to the public during a winter solstice event that will coincide with its quarterly meeting Dec. 21. The foundation is also making plans to display all the entries for the public to view.
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