This year, NOCO Style wanted to showcase the artwork of local creatives by giving them a chance to design our Best of NOCO Annual Resource Guide cover. Northern Colorado is home to some incredibly talented artists, and we are honored to have so many that submitted their ideas. Congratulations to Courtney Aspinwall for being selected as the winner!
Below are some entries from artists who understood the assignment and gave us a run for our money when we could only choose one (in no particular order).
Courtney Aspinwall | @chroma.thief
It is stylish, relaxed and straightforward, reflecting the vibe and people who are lucky enough to make Northern Colorado home.
Rachel Wilson Booth| artbyrw.com
“Since moving to Northern Colorado, life has been full of incredible food, a wide range of brews, and no short coming of artistic inspiration. These three categories are a huge part of our life here, and the variety that comes within each of these brings us joy and energy daily. By combining scribblelike strokes with a lively composition and bright colors, I illustrated not only the imagery itself, but the positive and playful energy that I’ve found Northern Colorado brings to all aspects of life.”
Amy Roup|southpawcreative.online
Northern Colorado is truly a colorful community full of life and diversity bringing light to all it has to offer. I love that there is such a range of professional services included in the Best of NOCO’s categories and I know that those businesses and individuals work hard to support this community to maintain that light in addition to so many positive reasons of their own.
My hope is that this piece summarizes that brightness and positive reflection from the candidates included and also inspires readers to work hard so they may too be included in this contest in the years to come.
Madeline Bechtel (MCCB)|www.mccb.design
While coming up with a concept for this cover – I wanted to focus on the vibrancy NOCO carries both in nature and community. I’ve found endless inspiration, support and enjoyment in all the area has to offer. ‘Trinkets’ zooms out on the diverse avenues of business and creativity NOCO excels at from outdoor recreation, to eye-care, to fine cuisine. Enjoy!
Hilde Keldermans|hildykay.com
Northern Coloradoans are classy, outdoorsy and don’t take themselves too seriously.
Shelby Perez| shelfranciscreative.com
When I think about our home, I often reflect on the outstanding nature around us and the people who make NOCO such a unique place to live.
Living here, we are always looking to the mountains, so I wanted to submit something that included them from the northern range we bask in daily. I also thought a lot about the sunshine we experience, which inspired the rising sun over the ridge. We are bright, beautiful people full of adventure in NOCO; this is also why I painted the rainbow amidst the blue sky and the handwritten fonts to depict humanity. The poem speaks to the harmony of our home, which inspired overall the mixed media nature of this piece and the elements mentioned.
Sean Foran| seanforandesign.com
As someone who grew up in Fort Collins and have lived in Northern Colorado almost all my life, I know there is so much to do and so much to offer about this place. Some of the biggest things that we are passionate about in Northern Colorado is our craft beer and our vast amount of nature. From drinking beers at Odell to hiking Horsetooth Rock, I really wanted to embody that in the most simplistic way that I could, while still providing depth and negative space for other pieces of copy to fill the surrounding area. I wanted this to feel almost like your looking through a window into Northern Colorado and all that is seen are these things that we hold most passionately and still hold the class that is my home.