Recently, Jason Hunter Design CEO Jason Bass teamed up with Community for Creativity, an Fayette County-based initiative which connects students with leaders of Georgia’s $29 billion creative economy. In this blog, Jason dives into his recent experience teaching branding to middle schoolers at Rising Starr Middle School in Fayetteville– and what he learned from them in turn.

I immediately jumped at the chance when I was asked to share insight on branding with middle schoolers at Rising Starr Middle School in Fayetteville.

The branding crash course was put together by Community for Creativity, a 2018-2019 program the Fayette County Public Schools designed to introduce students to careers in creative professions, such as design, the arts, and yes, web design! I spent a few hours with a few dozen students at Rising Starr Middle School, where I presented branding basics to four middle school classes.

My presentation started off quizzing them on some well-known logos to drive home the point that a logo is a symbol used to identify something or someone. I showed them hidden symbolism in some famous logos, such as the forward-facing arrow in the FedEx logo or the arrow pointing from A to Z in the Amazon logo. (Their minds were blown!)

From there, we did an exercise where students wrote down three words they would use to describe themselves, and three more words they thought others would use the describe them. Once they had their lists, I showed them a color chart and explained some of the psychology behind color choice. The students then selected the color they felt best represented them.

Using their selected words and colors, the students were asked to draw 10 logos that they felt represented themselves. Once they reached the 10th, they could then go back and choose a few to explore further. Not only was I amazed at some of the words they chose, but the sketches were impressive, too.

We squeezed a lot into a 45-minute session, and while nobody completed their own brand in such a short amount of time, the students got a first-hand look into just how difficult it can be to build a brand.

As they were wrapping up, I showed them the process I went through coming up with the logo for Jason Hunter Design, and then unveiled the logo for Community for Creativity program.

I wanted the students to make the clear connection between symbolism, color, and brand name. With these lessons fresh in their minds, I asked for their opinions on the Community for Creativity logo.

For instance, one student said that he felt each line that made up the shape could represent a different culture, and pointed out that they all intertwined, like they would in a community. Another pointed out that the shape looked like a bending infinity symbol, like how a community always adapts to work together. I was absolutely amazed with how quickly the lessons took root.

Spending time in the classroom with Community for Creativity reminded me how much I love educating the next generation. Before I started Jason Hunter Design, I taught art to high schoolers in New Jersey, where I absolutely loved that “a-ha” moment in a student’s eyes when a lesson stuck. Seeing the students at Rising Starr Middle School have their “a-ha” moment was a wonderful reminder of the power of knowledge, education, and opportunity to learn.

We can all learn something from the youth shaping our future. Their fresh look on a new subject, and their eagerness to tackle its challenges head-on, should be a reminder for all of us that education doesn’t stop at the classroom. These students inspired me to expand my own knowledge and tackle something new. Best of all, it was a reminder that the future of Fayette County, and Georgia as a whole, is in excellent hands!