April 4, 2025
By Janset Çinaz
Copy Editor
What began as a quarterly assignment turned into a milestone achievement for senior Aidan Meyer, whose logo design was officially accepted by the Lyndhurst Public Library’s Board of Trustees at its March 18 meeting.
Art teacher Mr. Petruzziello said that after the contest details were finalized in October, the 22 students in his Advanced Graphic Design class began brainstorming ideas for the new logo. Over the next month, they used Adobe Illustrator software to finalize their designs.
“It started off as a class project, and I gave the students the option to participate [in the contest] if they wanted to,” Petruzziello said.
Thirteen of his students decided to submit their designs to the contest, so Petruzziello passed those logos on to the nine members of the library’s Board of Trustees.
Petruzziello said that through their participation, his students learned about the nature of design contests.
“You don’t get to influence the personal opinion of the judges. You learn to let go of your design,” Petruzziello said. “It is kind of bittersweet.”
Petruzziello said one of the reasons the Board of Trustees selected Meyer’s logo was his attention to detail since the logo depicts the library, which was established in 1915, as a stand-alone building.
“When they saw Aidan’s design, their eyes lit up because it really showed the history of the building,” Petruzziello said.
Meyer said it took him about 15 class periods to complete the logo.
“I took a photo from many years ago of a version of the building without updates. Then, I took the important elements of it and modernized it to look sleek while also honoring the library’s heritage,” Meyer said.
“The board members were particularly impressed with Aidan’s rendering of the historic building.”
He said the library’s Board of Trustees asked him to tweak his design after his initial submission.
“The revisions did not take long because they were very minor. They asked me to get rid of a sun I had in the background,” Meyer said.
He said he believes his precision led to his success.
“I think what made my design stand out was the detail and the accuracy of the current building,” Meyer said.
Meyer, who will be studying graphic design at Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pennsylvania, said his advice to other students participating in design contests is to stay focused and be confident.
“When you hit a roadblock, you can’t get deflated,” Meyer said. “You have to keep going and figure out something out of the box.”
LHS media specialist Ms. Murru, who facilitated communication between Lyndhurst Public Library director Donna Romeo and Mr. Petruzziello, said the library was specifically seeking a logo designed by an LHS student.
“Initially, the idea was to contact the Art Department, but I notified the director and board that the graphic design class would likely be best suited for a project like this,” Murru said.
She said the library’s Board of Trustees was looking for a design with a traditional look, which Meyer’s submission embodied.
LOGO BY AIDAN MEYER Senior Aidan Meyer designed the Lyndhurst Public Library’s new logo in his Advanced Graphic Design class.
“The board members were particularly impressed with Aidan’s rendering of the historic building,” Murru said. “When they saw the design, they were impressed that he captured the building and provided a number of iterations of the design depending on where it would be printed.”
Meyer will be honored for his winning design at the next Board of Education meeting, which will take place at Lyndhurst Middle School on April 29.
“This is an incredible opportunity to build Aidan Meyer’s portfolio and further showcase the talented work of our LHS students,” said Murru.
