Hipkins wins Kirsh Law Firm billboard contest
Published on March 13, 2018
The 2018 recipient of the Kirsh Law Firm Scholarship is George Hipkins, whose design is now prominently displayed on the westbound side of U.S. Route 40 between Landing Lane and Rt. 213, in Elkton, Maryland.
NORTH EAST, Md. - For the fourth year, the Kirsh Law Firm provided real-world experience to a Cecil College students by offering a scholarship in exchange for the student’s talent in design a company billboard. The 2018 recipient of the Kirsh Law Firm Scholarship is George Hipkins, whose design is now prominently displayed on the westbound side of U.S. Route 40 between Landing Lane and Rt. 213, in Elkton, Maryland. “We were working on a re-design of our billboard a few years back, and I’m not particularly creative. So, I started to think about who I could approach for assistance. It struck me there is a huge talent pool at Cecil College, and so the scholarship contest was a natural fit. I approached the college, and they fully supported the idea,” said Peter Kirsh, Esq. The Kirsh Law Firm Scholarship, which comes with $500 academic award, is selected annually from submitted billboard designs from students in Cecil College’s Lifelong Learning Program. The composition can be of mixed media. “I wanted a flat design that was simple and easy to read from a distance. When you are driving down the road, you don’t have a lot of time to take in the information,” said Hipkins, who is a resident of Conowingo. The parameters were the design must fit on a 10-foot by 30-foot billboard that incorporated The Kirsh Law Firm and include the company’s telephone number. Entrants were free to be as imaginative as possible. Though not required, submissions could consist of the firm’s slogan, “Bringing You Home.” “We intentionally don’t provide ground rules or limits so that the students can use their full creativity in their designs,” said Kirsh. “The scholarship contest provides the students with a real-world challenge – using their creativity to promote a client’s business. Most of the submissions we receive are truly outstanding.” Hipkins researched the firm’s website to match colors and fonts. He went a step further to read up on what design elements are most successful for outdoor advertisements. Hipkins is pursuing the music and visual communications programs at Cecil College. “We wanted to provide graphic design students with an actual real-world assignment, the type of task they may face after graduation. To have this experience while in college I believe will be very helpful. Of course, the student who submits the winning design receives the scholarship and gets to see his or design used on our billboard,” said Kirsh.