Design A Bus Wrap
By Kelli Comer
Budding student artists in Lake County were recently invited to get their creative juices flowing and show the area their artistic skills by entering Laketran’s 2023 Design A Bus Wrap student art contest.
Kaitlin Barninger, a senior at Mentor High School, won first prize for her design entry themed, “Live Green, Live in Lake County.” As the top winner, Kaitlin’s design will be displayed on one of Laketran’s propane-powered Dial-a-Ride buses for one year.
“I have always loved sunsets, so I knew I wanted to include that in my design. Sunsets are always better at the beach, which is why I chose to include the lighthouse and Lake Erie,” Kaitlin says. “I have also enjoyed the many parks and bike paths in Lake County.”
In its third year, 147 local middle and high school students submitted entries to Laketran for the contest.
Laketran CEO Ben Capelle says, “We continue to be impressed with the artistic talent of our youth here in Lake County and were very excited to have received more than double the number of entries we did last year. It’s a great opportunity for students to showcase their abilities while tying in the importance of public transit and its impact on the environment and region.”
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Lake County-based company Avery Dennison sponsored the contest and donated the vinyl material used to wrap the vehicle. “Avery Dennison is pleased to sponsor this program for the third year in a row in support of Laketran and the Lake County community,” Avery Dennison senior marketing communications specialist Amanda Stefanik says.
As Mentor High School senior Kaitlin Barninger illustrates with this year’s wrapped bus, graphic vinyl film can be a powerful, creative canvas that is visually engaging, both commercially and artistically.”
Additional contest winners include:
• Second Place – Drake Girard, Mentor High School
• Third Place – Ladi Cassidy, Mentor High School
• Third Place – Jovana Gordillo, Heritage Middle School.
The winning designs can be viewed online at Laketran.com/laketran-2023-art-contest-winners-announced/. See the top 20 entries on display at Laketran’s Frank J. Polivka Transit Center at Lakeland Community College. For more information about Lake County’s regional public transit system, which serves 750,000 riders yearly, visit Laketran.com.