Putting Doodles to Good Use

Sheriff’s Deputy Wins Wellness Logo Design Contest

Human Resources Director Don Turko presents Sheriff's Deputy Mike Moeller with a certificate for winning the logo contest. 

Mike Moeller is a doodler. He always has been.

When he was a young boy, the Sheriff’s Deputy sketched superheroes. As an undergraduate student at San Diego State, he drew editorial cartoons for the college’s newspaper, The Daily Aztec.

In recent years, his cartoons have run in the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association’s monthly magazine, Silver Star, and he has sold them to an international cartoon syndicate. For Moeller, drawing falls somewhere in between a hobby and a part-time job.

Now, one of his designs will be featured as the official logo of the County’s Employee Wellness Program. Moeller recently won a county-wide contest in which employees were asked to come up with a visual identity for the program, which launched in January.   

The County wanted an image that employees would be able to relate to, said Human Resources Director Don Turko. The program needed a symbol that would pique employees’ interest and also encourage their participation.    

Out of 40 submissions, Moeller’s image of a bright yellow traffic-style sign won over the judges. Inside the design’s diamond shape is a black silhouette of a walker, dubbed the “Wellness Walker,” striding energetically. An outsized heart is outlined in bright red. Beneath the image, reads: “Wellness Ahead.”

“What struck us was the clean design of the logo and the readily recognizable symbol,” said Turko, who was part of the judging panel. “Most people slow down and take notice when the yellow caution sign is seen.”

Moeller’s design is expected to get a lot of exposure. The logo is already featured on the program’s website and on InSite.  Human Resources Services Manager Gabriela Berry, who coordinates the Wellness Program with Deputy Human Resources Director Jan Mazone, said the logo will go on t-shirts, signs and posters.

The Wellness Program is aimed at helping employees make healthy choices, from eating more fruits and vegetables and encouraging exercise to offering convenient medical screenings and flu shots.

Employees had two weeks to design and submit entries in February. Moeller learned he won last month.

Moeller said he came up with the concept in less than an hour after reading the contest guidelines. He drew the silhouette by hand and then put together the rest of the image using a software program on his computer.

“I thought, what is the simplest picture I could make that everyone would recognize, that would convey as much of” the county’s objectives as possible, Moeller said.

He designed the image with energy, vitality and happiness in mind.

“I pictured someone whistling while walking,” Moeller said. “It ended up having that look I wanted.”

To view more of Moeller’s work, visit www.agentmoeller.com.