Design Portfolio

Jefferson High School

Story: Jefferson High School, located in the heart of central El Paso, Texas, and just minutes from the Mexican border, has been educating students since 1949. Like many Texas cities, sports are king, and students and alumni alike are fierce supporters of their Silver Foxes, whether on the field, court or mat.

In 1994, the Maxine L. Silva Medical Magnet High School for Health Care Professions was founded on Jefferson’s campus. The school attracted high-achieving students from all over the city with its classes that helped to prepare them for future careers in medicine. I had the opportunity to attend the school based upon a short-lived interest in cardiology.

As a high school student, I had decided, out of nowhere, to join the football team. On the first day of spring practice, I was running through warm-ups (the first time I had ever been in full pads) and, during a backpedal exercise, fell backwards, tried to catch myself, and broke my right arm. While this remains as the most embarrassing moment of my life, I somehow endeared myself to my fellow players and coaches. Over the next year, I fell in love with the camaraderie and competition and learned many lessons along the way.

One of the more memorable moments came while standing on the sideline of a visitor's stadium when the home team came out of the locker rooms. Their uniforms were well-designed, with each kid having his name on the back of his jersey (in junior varsity!). I saw the look of intimidation on my teammates' faces and realized that there was something to be said for how you look on the field.

Goal: Over the years, the school had collected various logos that served the school, none of which were a cohesive identity behind which students could stand. Many of the fox logos were red, which betrayed the mascot name. In addition, there had been a few head coaches over a number of years, each of whom wanted to leave design imprint on the team. The goal was to create a brand that would inspire the student body, would be flexible for both sports and academics, and unify two schools under one banner.

Solution: After many attempts and iterations, the final logo was born in many forms: the Silver Foxes primary logo (head only); the Silver Foxes secondary logo (head over mountain); and the logotype (flexible for both schools, all sports and a variety of other uses). The mountain element to the secondary logo is particularly special, as it gives a nod to a decades-long tradition of schools painting their initial on the side of the mountain. While the practice was phased out years ago, the 'J' is still visible today. I wanted to make sure that tradition was kept in the spirit of the design.

While the package has not been adopted in total, many of the elements of the logo and uniform designs have made their way onto the school's sports and academic teams, which has helped achieve the goal that had originally been established.