Students with a knack for graphic design have the opportunity to display their talents, as well as help Ventura College at the same time.

The Ventura College Reading and Writing Center is hosting a logo design contest that runs from Oct. 28 through Dec. 9.

The contest is open only to Ventura College students and the winning design will represent the college’s new center.

Sumita Lall, English instructor at Ventura College, is organizing the contest.

“It would be great to see some designs that contain straightforward or easily identifiable images that are symbolic of the center’s focus,” she said. “The whole point of having a logo is to make the center easy to find for students.”

The Writing Center, previously located inside the Tutoring Center, was recently moved to its new location on the first floor of the Library & Learning Resource Center. Its main purpose is to assist those having difficulty with reading and writing assignments.

“We would like to see some representation of the center’s focus on improving reading and writing skills in developmental language arts classes and across the curriculum on our campus,” said Lall.

Contest participants have the opportunity to win a cash prize, as well as a certificate from the center’s founding faculty. The winner of the contest will also receive recognition on the Ventura College website.

Irene Menendez, a 24-year-old mathematics major, plans to enter the contest.

“Being recognized by the school for something like this would be an honor,” she said. “I’m not an art major but I like to think I’m pretty good at graphic design.”

The winning logo will become property of the Writing Center.

“The winning design will be used for a variety of things, including advertising,” said Oxford. “The logo creation will help promote the center.”

The Writing Center staff will select the winning entry a week after the contest concludes.

All designs must be submitted in either the GIF or JPEG format. Students can submit via email to [email protected], or in person at the Reading and Writing Center, located in room 155 of the LRC.