Rusty Greene has always enjoyed dabbling in the graphic arts.
When he attended Mississippi University for Women, he thought that area of study would be something he would do professionally for the rest of his life.
But Greene changed his mind just about when he was ready to receive his degree and decided to go back to school to become a teacher and a coach.
Greene still finds time to use what he learned in college. His latest creation gives Columbus High School and its players and fans a second, or more intimidating, option to show their colors.
Greene”s falcon head that looks like it is in attack mode is a variation of another design he finished late last year. That design is similar to the logo of the NFL”s Atlanta Falcons and incorporates a falcon, the logo of Columbus High, and the letter ”C”.
“This one is more simple,” Greene said. “I had a couple of stickers made up (for the first logo) and I changed it a few times and put them on a few cars, but it didn”t look right to me. I kept playing around with it until I came across something I thought would work and that would be unique to us.”
Greene hopes the logo will help create excitement about Columbus High athletics. He also said it will give the school the option to sell a new look to its players, fans, and parents. He said the football team, which started practice Monday for the 2010 season, probably won”t use the new logo on helmets because the school purchased new uniforms last year and that it would look right to mix and match logos.
Still, he is excited about the new look and that he was able to use the skills that helped earn him a degree in graphic design from The W in 1988.
“I really have never done anything professional with it,” Greene said. “I always have kind of dabbled with it and had fun. We will use this (latest logo) as a secondary design, and I hope people will think it looks cool. You can”t make everybody happy, but with a new coaching staff (for football) I thought this would be a new beginning and a great time for a new look and to bring in something different.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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