Four students were named finalists recently in a contest to create a logo for the Environmental Affairs Advisory Board (EAAB) with  Avon Lake High School junior MacKenzie Bates’ logo selected as the winner. Bates' design will be used to represent the EAAB. 

The EAAB advisescity council on a number of environmental issues from cancer studies to deer population.

Troy Intermediate School’s Lindsay Clemens earned second place. Also earning accolades were Erieview Elementary School’s Jackie Rush and Westview Elementary’s Caitlyn Hill.

Bates said he gave consideration to how his suggestion would fit in with other city logos. 

“When I was starting, I thought of how other city logos and logos in general look,” he said. “I came to the conclusion that they are usually in a circular shape and very streamlined, so I tried my best to apply these to my design. I had the basic idea of including the lake or water in some way and have houses and such. After that it was just playing around with Photoshop to see what looked good.”

Bates plans on attending college to study a combination of computer science, math and graphic design/art.

“University of Michigan, Carnegie Mellon and a few others are among my prospects,” he said.

 Keep an eye out for Bates’ EAAB logo in the future.