Underneath any beautifully bloomed flower, or some towering tree trunk, hides a collection of intricately laid out roots, serving as the anchor for these plants and many more.
The Spanish translation for roots is “raíces,” a word that has become the title of City College’s latest Latiné program.
The ¡Raíces: First Year and Beyond! program serves to provide empowerment, opportunities and academic support for its students. For the past five months, the program has been working with student designers to establish a new logo.
“[Raíces’] tagline is ‘Con raíces podemos crecer,’ which in English means, ‘with roots we’re able to grow,’” said Adrian Rodriguez, co-designer of the Raíces logo at City College.
Rodriguez is a first-generation Hispanic student. Having completed his undergraduate degree in urban studies at the University of California, Berkeley, Rodriguez returned to City College as a graphic design major.
“[Raíces] want to kind of instill in their students the idea that [they] want to build a community, build that foundation for you to kind of use as a platform to grow in your career pursuits, your educational pursuits, even in your own personal pursuits,” Rodriguez said.
Alongside Rodriguez, fellow co-designer Ziv Taylor conveyed his appreciation for the design project and the campus.
“Part of why I really wanted to be part of the process is because [City College] does feel like such a supportive community,” Taylor said.
As a first-year City College student, Taylor is majoring in engineering. Taylor’s creative background in graphic design dates back to his early childhood.
“Since I was a kid, I’ve just always been downloading all the software and trying to get my hands on whatever,” Taylor said. “I was modifying company logos to be more how I wanted it, or just making flyers for events.”
As Raíces received its place within City College, the two designers were tasked with the branding of this program.
A prominent theme throughout the design process for the Raíces logo emerged from the idea of interconnectivity.
“A lot of the time education environments are built towards a specific demographic or specific community,” Rodriguez said. “The Raíces program is trying to kind of expand that scope of what the support system of education can provide.”
Rodgriguez and Taylor originally experimented with the concept of roots, though later shifted towards an overall solar shape, symbolizing the guidance and interconnectivity the sun provides within nature.
In addition to the radial design, some of the angular parts of the logo serve as a homage to Incan culture, while other aspects, such as the crescent shape iris, highlight the Aztecs, both established Latin American empires.
“The idea of raíces is something I kind of grew up with,” Rodriguez said in reference to his cultural roots. “[The] loving parts of the project was being able to kind of connect back to that part of my identity.”
¡Raíces: First Year and Beyond! will begin in the fall of this year, along with its new logo. Students may fill out an interest form for further involvement in the program.
