Designing award-winning logos is nothing new for Bradwell Institute junior Lawrence Murray.
During the past year, the 17-year-old has placed and won awards in three contests, using graphic-design elements to bring to life a variety of logos, which, Murray said, mostly were inspired by Saturday morning cartoons and his imagination.
“I always used to nitpick billboards around town and ads in magazines,” Murray said. “I’ve always had an eye for it. I have a very distinctive imagination.”
Apparently, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle thought so, too. Last month, Murray went to the state Capitol to celebrate his third-place finish in a statewide contest to design a logo for Cagle’s Healthy Kids Challenge.
The challenge, a collaborative effort with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, is designed to increase awareness and participation in the alliance’s Healthy Schools Program. The challenge encourages educational leaders across Georgia to implement health and wellness programs in schools.
“I’m proud to congratulate Lawrence for placing third in our statewide logo competition and for designing such a quality logo for the lieutenant governor’s Healthy Kids Challenge.  The professional-level work of Lawrence and all of our participants is a testament to the great real-world skills our students are gaining in schools across our state,” Cagle said. “To combat the childhood-obesity epidemic confronting our state, it is going to take all of us working together to collaboratively face this challenge. I appreciate Lawrence being a part of this vital effort.”
Participants from the lieutenant governor’s Healthy Kids Challenge Day at the Capitol narrowed
down selections to five finalists. The winners then were chosen through an online voting competition.
Murray’s teacher, graphic communications instructor Jim Collins, said it has been a joy to watch Murray’s growth in the graphic and production-art field.
“Lawrence is a great student … basically, I’m more of an art director. I can push him more than other students,” Collins said. “That’s a dream to have a student who already has that skill level. His design sense is good.”
Murray, who hopes to attend the Savannah College of Art and Design after his senior year at Bradwell, also won second place in a SkillsUSA contest, and his logo was chosen as the winning design to represent the Liberty County School System’s new Liberty College & Career Academy.
Murray said designing logos is exciting and fun and the rewards for winning haven’t been too shabby, either. For placing third in the Healthy Kids Challenge, he won two pairs of tickets to see the Atlanta Falcons and Hawks play. For his LCCA design, he won $100. But overall, the biggest reward has been seeing his work come to life through display.
“It’s really been humbling, to be honest. To see my work, it’s an amazing feeling,” Murray said. “It makes me feel like I’m doing something right.”