Colorado teen wins design contest for Denver's Future Fest
Inside Artistic Apparel in Aurora, creativity knows no bounds.
"We are a full-service print shop," said VP of Marketing, Jouanna Wells. "We do anything you can think of -- pens, pencils, all the way up to big old graphic signs."
The women-owned small business is playing a big role in Denver's Future Fest this year by providing the wearable swag for the youth-focused festival. Wells made sure it included a fun-filled twist.
"If the point is that this is a kid-centered event, then the kids should design it," she said.
To do just that, Wells started an online contest for kids around the Denver metro area to come up with their best T-shirt design. Wells said she was quite impressed by the submissions.
"Is this really a kid who came up with this?" she said with a laugh. "That was my first thought."
Among the submissions was a creation by 13-year-old Anna Beers of Thornton. She jumped at the opportunity to compete and use her love of graphic design.
"I've just always been a really creative person," she said. "When I was looking at the (Future Fest) logo, one of the letters had dots on it and it looked like a building. So, I thought it would be cool if I replaced certain letters with graphics. Like, let's try putting every letter with a different field and occupation and see where that gets me."
Where it got the 8th grader was the top spot, and winning the contest means her design will be front and center at the annual festival this coming weekend.
"People are going to be wearing your design around downtown Denver," CBS Colorado's Kelly Werthmann said to Beers. "How does that make you feel?"
"It makes me excited because that means other people like my work" she replied. "Winning this contest has definitely boosted my confidence in graphic design."
That boost of confidence and empowerment is what the City of Denver wants all kids to feel during Future Fest on April 26. An energetic festival where small business owners, entrepreneurs and other community leaders will not only celebrate kids of all ages but also encourage them to explore endless future career possibilities.
"For any parent who's like, 'Hmm, what are we going to do this weekend?' Come down for half an hour, walk around, meet new people, and be exposed to a possibility for your kids that you didn't know or they didn't know existed," said Wells.
Visitors at Future Fest can get their own T-shirt with Beers' colorful design hot off the press - literally. Wells is bringing a T-shirt press machine to Civic Center Park and shirts of a variety of sizes. She has 500 shirts she will hand out for free.
