February 1, 2014

Happy 100th Birthday City College!

We wanted to celebrate the San Diego City College Centennial with graphic design. In the Fall 2013 semester our Centennial Branding class taught by Sean Bacon and Candice López worked to create a wide variety of projects to commemorate the 100th anniversary of our college. Many of these projects were produced and some never make it off the drawing board. Thanks to our good friends at MiresBall for creating the identity and brand guidelines. Scott Mires and Dylan Jones met with our students to help them along the way. This was such a great learning process. With this post we share the exceptional work of our students.

We want to express our sincere thanks to President Lynn Neault, Vice President Randy Barnes and past President Terrence Burgess for their vision to make the Centennial Branding class a reality. The support of our Visual & Performing Arts department chairs Wayne Hulgin, June Richards and Alicia Rincon is over the top. We also tip our hat to two terrific colleagues in Public Relations, Heidi Bunkowske and Jamie Netherland who were a big part of our team. Thanks to professional photographer Stephen Simpson who shot City College's phenomenal dancers for the theatre and dance posters at the end of the post. Our colleagues Dave Eichinger, David King and George Tubon in the photography program generously lent us studio space to shoot the theatre and dance poster imagery. Photography students delivered incredible shots of our new architecture and campus to use in promoting the centennial. We couldn't have done it without SDCC Adjunct Professor Paul Drohan for support on the wallpaper and City Moves application. Paul is a City College alumni and the Design Director at Digitaria. We salute our good friends at MiresBall, Scott Mires and Dylan Jones. Thanks to Professor Duane Gardella for his inspiring work on the 2014 Martin Luther King float and collaboration with our student designers.

The biggest shout goes out to San Diego City College Graphic Design students for their dedication and amazing work!


In an effort to bring Artist Shepard Fairey to exhibit at our new gallery
Russian nesting dolls were handmade featuring his iconic designs and packaged in a wooden crate.

The crate was hand delivered to Shepard Fairey's office in Los Angeles by students.

Brainstorming for an identity system and name for the new campus art gallery. The gallery name is still to be determined.

An adaptable, flexible identity system for the new gallery.


Gallery Visualizations by Bradford Prarie and Donovan Salazaar

Concepts to update the old college seal [see old seals below] for the Centennial led by Bradford Prarie and Richard Apocada




History of the Old College Seals from 1958 and 1968

Banners designed by Environmental team: Sam Spratt, Cage Langill, Aliya Bora and Devan Moore

Cityscape Cake poster design and illustration by Gina Brereton

Lulubi Garcia delivers the brand language with a dose of our new architecture and graduates

Alumni Book Timeline-Team: Luis Hernandez, Yvonne Anaya and Alicia Brianne López

Sharing the stats that make City College one of a kind-unique!


Custom buttons for the graduation sash to celebrate campus programs

Graduation Sash and Buttons designed by Satomi Yuinawa

Graduation Program design team Denise Vega, Rosa Jijon and Satomi Yuinawa

Downtown bus shelters designed by Lulubi Garcia

Denise Vega crafts an option for the 100th commencement program

Rosa Jijon visualizes a new diploma cover

Wallpaper for campus computers. Thanks to Web Design Professor Paul Drohan for Creative Direction.

City College inspires people to change their lives.

Tradition of student success

Designers created a variety of wallpapers to celebrate student success

For 100 years we've been changing lives, inside the classroom and beyond.

We inspire change on the campus and across the community.

Celebrating a century of success and a vision for tomorrow.

Preparing the next generation to lead the next century.

San Diego thrives at City.

Apparel designs using the Centennial symbol.

Envisioning a new seal to promote campus pride.

Lanyards with a message.

Striking caps.

The class was partial to this design featuring a revised seal.

Patterned brims

Beach gear for SDCC

Exploring brand language


This concept fueled the Martin Luther King float for 2014.

Environmental Design by Cage Langill, Sam Spratt, Aliya Bora and Devan Moore


Spreads for the Centennial History Book.

Kudos to our college historian for documenting the City College Story

Original photographic compositions to represent the decades.

Design Concepts for the 9th Annual International Book Fair feature erasable chalk art

Book fair postcard with a perforated bookmark.

Clever Urban Buttons to express Book Passion.

Customized book bags.

Design Concepts for the World Cultures Program express Education without Boundaries

A World of Cultures in the Heart of San Diego

Banners for the Library would hang from a curtain rod



Concepts for a new phone app City Moves. Thanks to Paul Drohan for creative direction.




























Theatre and Dance Program team is Richard Apodaca, Rosa Jijon and Isa Morse.

Professional photographer Stephen Simpson got some amazing shots of City College dancers.


Richard Apocada art directed the photo shoot with choreographer Professor Alicia Rincon and Candice López























Martin Luther King Parade Float-the handiwork of Duane Gardella and SDCC Graphic Design student Sam Spratt