When student leaders converge for the Maine SkillsUSA Leadership Conference in Bangor this March, they'll see the creative vision of a Sanford Regional Technical Center Student. Deanna Watson has won the statewide competition to brand the event with her lighthouse-inspired design that will illuminate everything from conference pins to banners.
Watson, a senior in SRTC’s Digital Design program, drew inspiration from her family ties to Maine, particularly her grandmother's lighthouse collection.
"Lighthouses represent safety and guidance, which really speaks to Maine's values," she said. "Maine is one of the safest states in the country, and I wanted to capture that feeling of home that Maine creates."
Her creative journey began with research into past winners and brainstorming potential themes. The lighthouse concept aligned perfectly with this year's SkillsUSA Maine slogan, "Ignite Your Potential." After extensive sketching to perfect the design, Watson digitized her work using Adobe Illustrator.
The path to victory started in the Digital Design classroom, where Watson spent hours mastering the tools that would bring her vision to life. "Before this class, I had never created digital art," she said.
Her training began with fundamental design principles and advanced to sophisticated digital techniques. Watson learned to scan her hand-drawn sketches at high resolution, then use Illustrator's powerful pen tool to trace and refine each element. She mastered the software's layering system to build her design piece by piece, using custom color palettes that captured Maine's coastal essence.
Watson credited her instructor, Amy Turgeon, who stayed after school for hours to guide her through technical challenges like adjusting stroke weights, fine-tuning gradient meshes, and preparing files for different print applications. The class provided not just software training, but a creative environment where Watson could experiment and refine her artistic voice.
"Beyond her artistic abilities, Deanna also exemplifies a winning attitude," Turgeon added. "She approaches each project with enthusiasm, positivity and a drive to succeed. Her passion for design is evident in her work ethic, and she is always eager to learn and improve."
Despite facing tight deadlines, Watson persevered through countless hours of trial and error to achieve her desired aesthetic. She worked extensively at home and during after-school sessions, testing different approaches until she discovered the perfect balance between digital precision and artistic warmth.
"Each element had to work at multiple sizes while maintaining its impact," Watson said. "The lighthouse beacon needed to look just as striking on a pin as it does on a banner."
This achievement has reinforced her plans to pursue graphic design as a career. "This project was a huge challenge, but absolutely worth it," she said. "It has given me so much more confidence in my creative ideas and designs."