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College graduate responsible for designing New Mexico Centennial Logo
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February 19th, 2009-Ryan Rodriguez and Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish at the unveling of the logo in Santa Fe.
Since the age of three, Albuquerque resident, Ryan Mitchell Rodriguez, has been illustrating and drawing. Now, a twenty two year old graduate, he is responsible for the New Mexico Centennial Logo which will be a familiar and prominent image in 2012.
The New Mexico Centennial Steering Committee found Rodriguez at the Art Center Design College. They held a competition at his school for the best and most appropriate design for the centennial logo. As Rodriguez said, they were looking for somebody who could design “the most appropriate logo that would help people identify with the event.”
His passion for illustration and design began at three years old, drawing mostly dinosaurs and people. It wasn’t until he reached seventeen that he took his set of skills more seriously and began looking into the Art Center Design College, Rodriguez said.
Joanna Pils, Director of Student Services at the Art Center Design College, said she was very excited when Rodriguez was chosen.
"We're extremely proud of the job that he did...He's very talented," Pils said, "and our cirriculum is geared to produce students to do top quality work." Pils also said that the Art Center Design College is a big advocate of the community, both local and state wide, as they work with many organizations to get their students involved.
Rodriguez was born with this passion, and he is very grateful for his talent. “It is so much so my passion,” Rodriquez said, “that artistic favors, like illustrated cards, or paintings of any sort work as a kind of currency for me.”
Rodriguez said he is happy that people now believe him when he submits his work. When he was twelve years old, he submitted an illustration for a competition in an arts kid’s magazine. His illustration was of several, very detailed, dinosaurs. The magazine, however, did not grant him with the first place award because they did not believe that he had done the work. “They gave me a plaque in the mail,” he said, “to honor me for my attempt, but they didn’t believe me.”
Even though this may have caused an obstacle for other young boys, this did not hinder Rodriquez' passion for drawing dinosaurs. As of summer 2008, Aurora Publishing hired Rodriguez to illustrate a new line of dinosaur slap-it-ups. These slap-it-ups are non-adhesive static pieces of material that will stick to nearly any surface indoors. Aurora Publishing sees these dinosaurs being sold in 2010.
Matthew Fritzsche, General Manager of Aurora Publishing, said it was a pleasure to work with Rodriguez.. "He understod exactly what we wanted, he did a great job, he did it really fast and it is beautiful work. " Fritzsche siad, "We get a lot of comments on the dinosaur samples that we have here."
When Rodriquez isn't applying for jobs at design agencies, he spends his time designing logos for local businesses. In the years ahead, he hopes to own his own agency. “ I need a place to start," Rodriguez said, "My aspirations are only as big as my recourses to achieve them,” Rodriguez said.
For more information about New Mexico's upcoming birthday, visit the New Mexico Centennial website.
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