While some graphic designers may turn to music or pop culture for inspiration, Nicole Renaud found hers in the coos of her newborn son and the classic Mustang in her driveway when she was creating the winning design for the Shorewood Kiwanis Harper Charity Cruise logo contest.

“The logo was the first big assignment of the semester for my Design 3 class,” said the second- year Macomb Media and Communication Arts (MACA) student. “It was mid-January and we had about two weeks to complete it. My son, Jordan, had just been born on Dec 30.”

The design contest is held every year exclusively for Macomb students. They are asked to create a logo to promote and celebrate the annual cruise, the Kiwanis club’s largest charity fundraiser. Nicole’s design, showcasing a Ford Mustang, will be imprinted on T-shirts and other memorabilia sold during the cruise, which takes place on Harper in St. Clair Shores each August.

A Mustang girl

“I love Mustangs” said Nicole, who drives a white 1988 Fox Body model, a gift from her husband Jon that gained even more sentimental value after her mother died. “I’m a Mustang girl. My dad has had a few Mustangs and my mom always loved them as well. I grew up going to car shows and cruises with (my parents).”

The Mustang in Nicole’s winning design is circa 1964, the debut year for the model, which is named after the free-roaming horses of the nation’s West. As first-place winner she also received a check for $2,000, provided by Roy O’Brien Ford and the Foren Family Foundation, contest sponsors.

“I have had so much fun in the MACA program,” said Nicole, who expects to graduate in December. “Each professor has guided me and given me great feedback. The professors have great passion for what they do.”

Nicole certainly knows passion when she sees it. The Mustang has been her “dream” car since childhood and the layers of inspiration behind her design include a part-time communications job for Makers Garage, an auto parts manufacturer dedicated to “giving new life to the Fox Body Mustang.”

MACA program offers creative outlet

Similarly, Nicole credits Macomb’s MACA program for giving new life to her artistic side.

“It wasn’t until my late 30s when my big kids were getting bigger that I decided to do something with my creative mind,” said Nicole, who is also mother to 12-year-old daughter Jax and 15-year-old son Jonathan Jr. “I was not even sure that graphic design was what I was going for until I started taking design classes, especially illustration.  I love creating and coming up with new ideas.”

When her latest idea is on display at the Harper cruise on Aug. 28, Nicole, with husband, children and family dog, will be cruising down the avenue just like she did with her own parents.

“I absolutely will drive my Mustang in the Harper cruise,” she said. “It is one of my family’s favorites.”