In the Carolina Union’s Creative and Communication Services (CCS) office, Union student staff member, Savannah Nelson, recently stepped beyond her usual design assignments to create the official logo for “High Fives for Heels,” a New Student and Family Programs initiative at UNC.
Savannah, a senior majoring in Communications (New Media) and Information Sciences, has been working as a design assistant at CCS for six months. “Every day looks a little different in CCS, which gives me a variety of learning opportunities and design experience,” she explains.
On a typical workday, Savannah arrives with her iPad ready to tackle whatever projects CCS throws her way. “Some days I’m given ‘free will’ to design themed stickers and others I am working on advertising material,” she says. Her process typically begins with sketching ideas and searching for inspiration before moving to Adobe software to execute her designs. Collaboration is key to her workflow as she often shares rough drafts with CCS’ professional staff.
In Fall 2024, New Student & Family Programs reached out to CCS with a request to create a logo for a new program called “High Fives for Heels,” which allows Carolina families to volunteer and provide mid-term and final exam support in the form of snacks, drinks, school supplies, and, of course, high fives. CCS professional staff knew this project would be a perfect opportunity for Savannah. “Savannah has a refreshing design point of view and isn’t afraid to try something new,” says CCS Associate Director, Tori Holder. “The CCS team was excited to see where she would take this request and knew that she could deliver a logo that would appeal to the client and to students.”
The opportunity to design for High Fives for Heels presented both excitement and challenges for Savannah. “Knowing that the materials I handed in would be used ‘out in the wild’ was exciting but also sort of scary!” she admits. Despite having extensive experience in web design, this was her first time developing an official logo for public use.
Savannah particularly enjoyed the collaborative aspect of narrowing down design options. “Talking with my coworkers about what works and what doesn’t was not only insightful, but also funny at times,” she reflects. The team ultimately chose a classic Carolina blue color scheme, though Savannah found it fascinating to observe “how the tone of a project can drastically change with different color choices.”
The impact of her work became real during a recent High Fives for Heels event that Savannah attended with her roommate. “I was surrounded by tons of parents all wearing my logo on their shirts!” she recalls. “I am lucky to have amazing friends who were just as excited as me to see the logo being used out and about on campus.”
As graduation approaches in Spring 2025, Savannah plans to continue pursuing graphic design, with a particular interest in UI/UX design. She credits her time at the Carolina Union with teaching her valuable lessons about creative collaboration and professional responsibility.
“My time in CCS has been invaluable to teaching me the collaboration process on creative projects as well as the responsibility it takes to deliver quality work,” Savannah says.
To see Savannah’s work for “High Fives for Heels” please see below or visit the New Student and Family Programs website.
