MEET THE AUTHOR

Born and raised in Baltimore, De’Shaun Fortune has lived and breathed graphic design since age 12. He began studying design in the 7th grade at Baltimore Design School and joined their graphic design track sophomore year of high school. It was that same year that former media instructor, Becky Slogeris, visited his class and recruited him for Wide Angle’s after school design program. De’Shaun participated in every year of programs between then and graduation in 2019, when he became one of Wide Angle’s first design interns, then eventually our first Arts2Work Apprentice, and now our first graphic design journeyworker as a full time Junior Designer at WAYM. His ultimate goal is to work in the video game industry and graphic design has been an important step on that path.

I’ve been a part of Wide Angle for some of the most formative years of my life. During the vast majority of high school, I was a part of their after school program, and in my early 20s, I worked as a graphic design intern. Throughout that entire time, a giant wooden relief of the Wide Angle logo has hung on the office wall. If you’ve never seen it, the Wide Angle logo features the silhouetted figures of four youth: three holding up film equipment,–cameras and a boom mic–and one holding a pencil and paper. This logo has represented Wide Angle’s commitment to amplifying youth voices and providing them with media and arts education for as long as I’ve been here. The emphasis was on teaching video production, with a little hint at more, like drawing, represented by the youth holding the pencil and paper. 

The last Wide Angle logo was created by our founder, Gin Ferrara, in 2004 alongside the organization's current name. Wide Angle was originally called “Wide Angle Community Media”, with the intention of doing partnerships and collaborations with different community groups in the Baltimore area. Still, most of the programs they were doing at the time were with young people, so Wide Angle was rebranded with youth education in mind.

As a result the logo also became youth-centered, taking inspiration from a photo of Gin and a few students striking Charlie's Angels-style poses. Gin wanted the logo to look active and for the youth to look like they were taking charge on a shoot, and most importantly, Gin wanted the silhouettes to look like middle and high schoolers from Baltimore, with popular hairstyles of the time and local school uniforms.

Over the eight years I've been with Wide Angle the organization has changed a lot and logo, which resembles the one for Codename: Kids Next Door, has become a bit outdated. So, when I was approached with the opportunity to redesign the logo, I was ecstatic!

With this new logo, we didn’t attempt a complete redesign of the Wide Angle brand, but rather a refresh that aligns with the current scope of the organization. As Wide Angle grows, branding that not only conforms to modern design sensibilities but also considers how the world has changed is needed. This is a very delicate task to balance, but we achieved that goal by updating the silhouettes of the youth in the logo and the layout of the text. The new logo still features four silhouetted youth, but now they sport slightly more realistic proportions, as opposed to the more cartoonish style of the old logo. We also strived to make them appear more gender-neutral and add more diversity to the body shapes and sizes. 

The youth on the far left is still holding a camera to represent the video production side of WAYM, but they are a little taller and no longer wear a cap. The figure to the right of them is still holding a boom mic but in a more relaxed position and they now sport a hoodie. The youth to the right of them is now holding a clapper instead of a camera to offer a bit more diversity in the props. Lastly, the figure on the far right is sitting cross-legged with a laptop to represent the graphic design side of Wide Angle, but could also represent video editing, photo editing, or drawing and animation. The new logo almost looks like the figures from the old logo have grown up–much like the organization itself. Creating ambiguity in the ages and genders of these figures makes it easier for any youth, from middle school students to college-age interns, to see themselves in the logo.

I’ve been a part of Wide Angle’s graphic design efforts since 2016, when the program was still relatively new. I helped pioneer what those programs have become today, so it only made sense that I helped redesign the logo and incorporate more graphic design representation within it. Wide Angle has grown and changed a lot over the years, but our core commitment has remained the same: to amplify youth voices and provide media arts education and workforce training. I am living proof of the impact that Wide Angle has made, and I hope this redesign helps further those efforts and creates more people like me who have learned skills they will carry into their future careers.