Lindsey Clennan is the winner of the seventh annual Friends of VCU Libraries Design Contest, which accepted submissions from current students and recent alumni. Clennan, a rising senior biology major, received a $500 prize. Her design will be used on T-shirts sold to support VCU Libraries. 

While Clennan hopes to pursue a doctorate degree in neuroscience after graduating, being raised by two artists gave her a love of the arts that she has translated into a tool to de-stress. “Over [winter] break, I was like, I really need to take a break from academics and reset,” said Clennan. “And I wanted to [enter the contest] the year prior, but I had just run out of time. So, I went back and looked at my sketches that I had come up with. And I was like, why don't I just whip something up, see what happens. It ended up being a good kind of stress relief for that time.”

Inspired by Scandinavian block prints, Clennan wanted to create something bold and eye catching. “I saw some really cool block prints that I was like, oh, this could be translated. I also, wanted to do something that wasn't just black and gold,” Clennan said. “I usually don't work with bright colors like that. So, I was like, I'm going to try something new. And I noticed a lot of the Scandinavian prints had those kinds of vibrant, bright colors.”

Clennan’s winning design may also be used for other VCU Libraries materials such as thank-you cards, tote bags and a Cabell Screen exhibit. The artist retains copyright.