Lauren Meranda
Founder & Designer, Studio Brazen
Design Mentor: Rolling Stars
Lauren Meranda
Category: Mentor
Dave Straus
Dave Straus
Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Chicago American Manufacturing LLC
Design Mentor: Cook County Sunrise
Mark Jarzemsky
Josh Witherspoon
Josh Witherspoon
Creative Director of Brand, Density
Design Mentor: The New Century Flag
Scott Rench
Dan Chodrow
Dan Chodrow
Creative Director, Freelance
Design Mentor: The Cone Flower of Cook County
Jim Kelly
Jim Kelly
Executive Creative Director, closerlook, inc.
Design Mentor: Standing Together on the Shore of Excellence and Equity
Sarah Davis
Denis McNamara
Denis McNamara
Graphic Designer
Design Mentor: DPC (Daniel Pope Cook) Flag / Cook’s Flag
Steve Batterson
Steve Batterson
Partner & Creative Strategy Director, Simple Truth
Design Mentor: Green, Gold and Great
Heather Anderson
Heather Anderson
Graphic Designer, Forest Preserve District of Cook County
Design Mentor: The Key of Cook County
1. What inspired you to become a mentor for the Flag 2021 competition?
I wanted to help the young designers realize their vision and show them ways to push their work even further.
2. Through this experience what did you learn from your student, and what did you hope to impart upon your student?
I learned how to look at things through the eyes of someone younger, and was inspired on how fast they interpret the world, process it and articulate it. It’s cool to see.
3. Tell us about a favorite memory you have working with your student(s).
I just enjoyed seeing the work evolve, the experiments, iterations and questions.
Denny Liu
Denny Liu
Senior Designer, The Office of Experience
Design Mentor: Harmony Flag
1. What inspired you to become a mentor for the Flag 2021 competition?
I find the idea/notion of a flag to be amazing and I was intrigued by the idea of working with a student designer in the efforts of creating a wide-reaching visual identity piece for the face of Cook county.
2. Through this experience what did you learn from your student, and what did you hope to impart upon your student?
I hope that the student I worked with learned about the since of accomplishment that comes from having a goal and then being willing to revise, rework, and reimagine your tasks so that a goal may be achieved. During the process I had to learn how much of myself to offer and how much to scale back, as my student had a large amount of respect for my practice as an artist, but it was important for me and for the project that we created the students’ design.
3. Tell us about a favorite memory you have working with your student(s).
There isn’t simply one favorite memory. But I will say that the back and forth was fun as I was able to watch the student grow more confident each week as we reworked the in-progress version of the design. As an artist and an instructor, I have a pure enjoyment in watching students learn to be confident in their work.
See more of Denny’s work: https://www.studioaperitif.com/
Martin Burciaga
Martin Burciaga
Graphic Designer, Cook County Bureau of Administration
he/him/his
Design Mentor: I Will Banner
1. What inspired you to become a mentor for the Flag 2021 competition?
As the in–house creative for Cook County Government, the subject matter of the competition along with my own personal experiences with some great mentors both personally and professionally made my decision to serve in this momentous effort an easy one.
2. Through this experience what did you learn from your student, and what did you hope to impart upon your student?
This experience was enlightening, amid a global pandemic, virtual classes, and social distancing – Drew maintained enthusiasm and passion in his work, asking questions, doing research, and truly enjoying the process, which is all I wanted for him.
3. Tell us about a favorite memory you have working with your student(s).
My favorite memory working with Drew would have to be our initial meeting. Drew was not shy and ready to work which really impressed me coming from a sophomore in high school. We truly hit the ground running on day one and put together a submission that we were both truly proud of.
Jonathan Meitus
Jonathan Meitus
Partner, WEBSTER9
Design Mentor: County Stars Flag, New Union Flag, Parallels Flag
Lisa Lee
Carl Vogel
Carl Vogel
Forest Preserve District Director of Communications
Design Mentor: Number 54 Flag, Strides for Cook County
Carl Vogel is the Director of Communications for the Forest Preserves of Cook County, which protects nearly 70,000 acres of natural public land throughout Cook County and is one of the oldest and largest forest preserve districts in the United States. Prior to joining the Forest Preserves he has been the editor of nonprofit magazines in New York and Chicago, an adjunct professor at New York University, and a communications consultant for universities, think tanks, community groups, and government agencies, with a focus on urban policy and social change.
Faiz Razi
Faiz Razi
Design Faculty, Northwestern University
he/him/his
Design Mentor: Connection Flag, Harmony II Flag
1. What inspired you to become a mentor for the Flag 2021 competition?
I was asked by my colleague Martinez E-B to participate as he’s aware of my long teaching history, and I can almost never pass up the chance for some friendly competition.
2. Through this experience what did you learn from your student, and what did you hope to impart upon your student?
I had the luck of working with two separate students for this challenge, Edward Carr and Deahvyon Jones. I came in with very few preconceived notions, and just wanted to help them push their ideas forward into something fresh and exciting, while still keeping their visions intact.
3. Tell us about a favorite memory you have working with your student(s).
My favorite memory of the process was seeing their work for the first time, and getting excited at the possibilities. Both of these gentlemen started off with visually striking ideas rendered in colored pencil. Pushing these into ‘flag format’ (i.e. consistent stripe sizes, proportionality, unified star shapes, etc.) took a bit of work, but the end result still showed off their ideas with some of my design flourishes that made them shine.
See more of Faiz’s work: https://www.faizrazi.com/
John Geletka
John Geletka
Founder, Geletka+
he/him/his
Design Mentor: Lakeview Flag
1. What inspired you to become a mentor for the Flag 2021 competition?
I wanted to help the young designers realize their vision and show them ways to push their work even further.
2. Through this experience what did you learn from your student, and what did you hope to impart upon your student?
I learned how to look at things through the eyes of someone younger, and was inspired on how fast they interpret the world, process it and articulate it. It’s cool to see.
3. Tell us about a favorite memory you have working with your student(s).
I just enjoyed seeing the work evolve, the experiments, iterations and questions.
Martinez E-B
Martinez E-B
Adjunct Professor, Harper College Art Department
he/him/his
Design Mentor: Freedom Flag
1. What inspired you to become a mentor for the Flag 2021 competition?
I find the idea/notion of a flag to be amazing and I was intrigued by the idea of working with a student designer in the efforts of creating a wide-reaching visual identity piece for the face of Cook county.
2. Through this experience what did you learn from your student, and what did you hope to impart upon your student?
I hope that the student I worked with learned about the since of accomplishment that comes from having a goal and then being willing to revise, rework, and reimagine your tasks so that a goal may be achieved. During the process I had to learn how much of myself to offer and how much to scale back, as my student had a large amount of respect for my practice as an artist, but it was important for me and for the project that we created the students’ design.
3. Tell us about a favorite memory you have working with your student(s).
There isn’t simply one favorite memory. But I will say that the back and forth was fun as I was able to watch the student grow more confident each week as we reworked the in-progress version of the design. As an artist and an instructor, I have a pure enjoyment in watching students learn to be confident in their work.
Bill Gatewood
Bill Gatewood
1. What inspired you to become a mentor for the Flag 2021 competition?
I wanted to inspire young designers to apply their creativity to a real-world project.
2. Through this experience what did you learn from your student, and what did you hope to impart upon your student?
I learned that my students have what it takes to be successful designers. I hoped to impart on them the value of being open to input and to fully explore their ideas.
3. Tell us about a favorite memory you have working with your student(s).
My favorite memory is of my students taking the initiative and reworking their ideas on their own.