After designing Dublin’s lucky logo, graphic designer Marilyn Sobwick headed south for graduate school and warmer climes. She answered our questions via email while volunteering in the Bahamas.
Dublin Life: When did you live in Dublin?
Marilyn Sobwick: I called Dublin home from around 1984/1985 until 2003. I lived on both sides of the Scioto River while in Dublin.
DL: How did you come to live here?
MS: We followed my husband’s career path to Dublin.
DL: How did you end up as the designer of the original shamrock logo?
MS: As a board member of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce, I originally designed the shamrock for the Chamber Business EXPO in 1985. The image was embraced and became adopted as the Chamber logo. In order to make the (then) Village of Dublin appear larger than life, we carried the identity over to the City with its incorporation in 1987, and then on to the Convention and Visitors Bureau. The troika effect! It must have worked. My background in design, at that time, was a BFA in graphic design and illustration.
DL: Can you tell me a little about the creative process that went into creating the shamrock?
MS: The idea was to give the Dublin community a sophisticated, high-profile look to attract non-smokestack type businesses to the community. The Dublin Chamber had high tech businesses on its radar screen.
DL: What other types of work did you do for the City?
MS: The first project for the City was to create its stationery letterhead, envelope and calling cards. Then, (Director of Communications Sandra Puskarcik) had me working on the recycling brochures and/or information sheets.
DL: What’s it like seeing your work (or the inspiration your work provided) all over City materials still?
MS: Variations of the original shamrock have popped up throughout the City. A variety of designers took the original inspiration and added their own twist. The shamrock seemed to survive as a common denominator through it all. The shamrock has served its purpose due to the phenomenal growth Dublin has experienced.
DL: Where has life taken you since you left Dublin (work, family, etc.)?
MS: I relocated to Savannah, Ga. to begin graduate work at SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design, located in a tropical coastal climate. My passion has become designing for ocean awareness to enlighten the world about our oceans and our sustainable future. My new business is called Ocean Co Motion.
What other projects have you worked on?
While I was a member of the Dublin Arts Council, I headed up the Leatherlips Monument as part of the Arts in Public Places project. I designed the artist-in-residency solicitation brochure and all printed materials for the project, wrote all news releases for a variety of Ohio newspapers and publications, corresponded with the Wyandot tribe members throughout the U.S., and made all arrangements for our visiting artist Ralph Helmick, Chief Bearskin and tribal members from Wyandot, Okla.
Since moving to Savannah, I have concentrated my efforts on ocean awareness projects that can be seen at www.cargocollective.com/logoz.
What are you up to now?
This week I’m a volunteer for earthwatch.org in the Bahamas, monitoring the patch reefs and mangroves. This study will monitor the abundance of fish population in size and species and how it relates to the ecosystem. Field work always brings on design projects. I also volunteer for BLUE Ocean Film and Conservation Summit, Gray’s Reef, and The Dolphin Project.