miau-for-the-birds-winnerCongratulations to Rachel Sperber, winner of Michigan Audubon’s For the Birds t-shirt design contest. Rachel has been interested in birds her entire life. “Anecdotally, my mother claims that when I was very young she used to play a card matching game with me with pictures of birds, and that by the age of 4 I could identify 40 bird species,” says Rachel. For Rachel, the connection with birds is an artistic one. She elaborates, “For me, birds are pure design, and I am fascinated by the variations of colors, patterns and shapes.”

Rachel took inspiration for the design of the shirt from the National Parks stamps by Valerie Jar. “I knew that I wanted the design to feel like it could easily be a patch or a badge that you might see on a ranger shirt. I felt like that kind of visual language would lend itself to a conservation message, even if the shirt was only glanced at briefly,” Rachel said.

She chose a Kirtland’s Warbler to be the main focus, since they are a conservation species of significance in Michigan. Rachel goes on to say that “the shape of Michigan is easily identifiable, so you know almost instantly what the focus of the design is, and I encompassed everything in a shield to communicate protection and accomplish the badge look I was after. The trees are meant to drive home a feeling of nature and being outdoors.”

for_the_birds_tshirt_mockupRachel is a life-long resident of Michigan and currently works as a graphic designer and art director in the metro-Detroit area. She studied graphic design formally, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with concentrations in graphic design and drawing from Wayne State University in 2010. Rachel was raised to enjoy nature and the outdoors, and over the years she has become increasingly interested in habitat conservation.

Michigan Audubon would like to thank everyone who submitted a design for our contest. Special thanks to Rachel for her excellent design and the thought and care that went in to highlighting our work to conserve Michigan birds. These special edition t-shirts are available for purchase at a cost of $25 + tax and $4.25 shipping and handling by calling Lindsay Cain at Michigan Audubon at 517-580-7364 or e-mailing lcain@michiganaudubon.org.