Amazeum 7th Birthday T-Shirt Contest Winner: Rachel Goodman

This year our museum store, Curiosity Corner wanted to add a little twist to our birthday traditions: a T-Shirt contest! The rules were simple- it must be original artwork, incorporate the number 7 and have a design that incorporated the values and heart of the Amazeum. Our winner had all of these.

Rachel Goodman is a professional graphic designer and illustrator with a background in marketing design. She has over 8 years of experience in her field creating logos, branding packages, infographics, social media assets, print work, creative merchandise, and more. When she's not working she enjoys many hobbies including archery, tattooing, reading, and gardening. Enjoy this Q & A with Rachel to learn about her journey in creating this design.

How long have you been an artist and what is your graphic design experience?

I have been making a mess- I mean, making art since I was a kid. Naturally, that led me to pursue graphic design in college. I've been working in the field for a little over 8 years now, doing all kinds of work from product design to digital marketing.

How do you know the Amazeum?

I first heard about the Amazeum in passing from some friends as it was being built. It sounded like a fun learning experience for my niece, who was around 6 at the time. Her favorite thing so far is the indoor play space but the candy lab is a close second. Now that my nephew is old enough to go (3) he is obsessed with all things mechanical.

Walk us through your process, how did you come up with this design and where did you pull inspiration from?

Ok, so when I was a kid, I loved those wavy curly candles that you could buy for birthday cakes. They're wild and colorful and to my 10-year-old mind they were so cool (It was the 90s, alright?). Fast forward to when I was brainstorming my design for the Amazeum's 7th Birthday.  I wanted to make a simple, illustrative design that would be both practical and whimsical. There was a lightning bolt moment of inspiration and I decided to make the 7 out of the curvy candles. After that, it all came together like magic. 

As an artist, how do you relate your design with the values of the Amazeum when it comes to curiosity, creativity, and the love of learning?

I think those three values go hand in hand in art and in life. Curiosity is like the pebble that starts a rockslide- the more interest you have in something, the more you want to learn about it, and the more you learn, the more you want to know. Creativity is a way of seeing things. For me, the study of creation and nature matters as much as, if not more than technical prowess. Not to say that skill doesn't come into play, but without thought behind it to give it substance, art will fall flat. 

What was your experience like with the Amazeum team?

Amazing. Haha but seriously they are such a fun bunch. They were very encouraging during the design process and helped me refine the final design.

What was your biggest takeaway from working on this design?

I was homeschooled growing up and one of the benefits of being able to do school anytime, anywhere was that we could take lots of field trips. We went to factories, museums, farms and concerts to learn enriching things that most schools don't have the time or budget to explore. Instead of learning what to think we learned how to think and to apply what we learned. The Amazeum reminds me of that, so I'm glad I was able to lend some of my creativity to them for this year's design!