Winnie Tomeny

Over the summer, The Hawkeye collaborated with ULM’s graphic design program to create a new logo. After receiving almost 20 submissions, The Hawkeye’s executive board narrowed down the selection to three potential logos. The executive board contacted Cassie Livingston, the publisher of Bayou Life, for her input.
Professor Winnie Tomeny won the grand prize and created The Hawkeye’s new logo. Senior art major Haley Wiley received second place, and senior art major Tyanna Johnson earned third place. Following the competition, Tomeny sat down for an interview with The Hawkeye.
Q: How long have you been a graphic designer? When did you start working at ULM?
A: I’ve been doing graphic design for almost 30 years. I worked for an advertising agency after receiving my master’s degree, Master of Fine Arts, from Savannah College of Art and Design. Then, I started pursuing a teaching career. I’ve been teaching for the past seven years at higher education institutes. This is my second year at ULM.
Q: What inspired you while working on the Hawkeye’s new logo? What was your design process?
A: The main thing is I wanted to design something to break out the old. I felt the logo you guys had before; it just looked like ’70s or ’80s. I needed something more contemporary, more fit in the fast-paced college student’s life, and then something more appealing to the young people. So that’s why I came up with the idea.
Q: What was the research process like? Did you use other college newspapers and publications as inspiration?
A: Research is crucial for graphic designers, and you have to brainstorm based on what your clients want. Then, you write down all the important things they’re looking for. You start brainstorming different ideas, and you come up with tons of different combinations of different designs.
Q: As you mentioned, a graphic designer comes up with many versions of a design. How did you narrow down your ideas for the Hawkeye logo?
A: Your training and experience speak volumes as well because if you don’t have that experience, sometimes you make a decision that just doesn’t come out right. You’ve been dealing with clients for so many years, so you know how to pursue a better quality. That’s why I encourage my students to do a lot of design for real clients. The more experience you have, the more confident you are and the better quality your design will be.
Q: The redesign of The Hawkeye logo marks the first time Student Publications collaborated with the graphic design program. Why do you think it is important for organizations like Student Publications to collaborate with graphic designers?
A: Like I said, they [graphic design students] need to have real clients. I require all my advanced graphic design classes to have competitions. It is a win-win situation because the company gets tons of great designs, and they can put being the winner on a resume. I’ve been doing that with an upscale restaurant in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, which is about three and a half hours away. We draw all the way down there and present their website design ideas. Then, the restaurant chooses three winners.
Q: One of our biggest goals at The Hawkeye is to increase student engagement. How can graphic designs be used to connect with readers?
A: Look at social media, it’s the perfect example. How do you grab people’s attention? The design, the art, the visual, the audio, the sound, the editing, the retouching — that is how. If you don’t have that visual and audio appearance, people won’t click on it. They swipe and swipe, so that’s why it’s so important to have graphic designers involved in communications, either publications, websites or advertisements. All these designs tell the audience what you are trying to say to me. What are you trying to reach me about? So, it’s really important to have good designs and reach the correct audience. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time.
Q: Graphic design is a relatively new field of study at ULM. What do you want readers to know about the graphic design program?
A: I just want them to know that I’m here. The students here are so eager to learn, especially my graphic design department and my students. They say, “Professor Winnie, I’ve learned so much with you in two weeks.” This is why I want to pour myself into these students to make them better graphic designers and designers in general.