The project
Rising Tide: The Linda Ward & John Williams Burgess Leadership Award is a scholarship awarded to students from immigrant families that funds their participation in educational summer programs. created in memory of John Williams Burgess, a passionate advocate for social justice and active citizenship, and a lover of all things nautical. The award honors him and his mother, educator and artist Linda Ward.
The design
Rising Tide sought a logo that is optimistic, uplifting, and nautical, incorporating the color blue. I created a logo with a ship's helm above tidal waves in memory of John Williams Burgess, who was a captain. A captain's most important and defining quality is his leadership. I incorporated the helm into the logo as a sun rising over the ocean tide, symbolizing both the bright future the award will help realize for youth receiving this award and the long journey, often crossing oceans, many of the recipients have undertaken to breathe free.
The leadership focus and nautical theme of this design also ties into Linda Ward's work as an educator in Maine, which is renowned for its beautiful coastline. I chose colors that are bright and uplifting, reflective of a sunrise over the ocean, so that the students applying to and receiving this award would feel excitement and hope.
