The Arizona STEM Acceleration Project
Logo Design
Can Math Make Art?
Logo Design, Congruence, Similarity
An 8th Grade STEM lesson
Matthew Heaston
June 2024
Notes for teachers
This lesson supports math curriculum by providing an opportunity to practice similarities and congruence.
Please be familiar with rotations, reflections, translations, and dilations.
Keep the logo designs simple.
This lesson is broken into two 55 minute classes.
This lesson assumes the content is prior knowledge that will be accessed.
Better results are expected when collaborating with your math department.
List of Materials
Math Standards
Technology Standards
6-8.1.b. Students identify and begin to develop online networks of experts and peers to customize their learning environments in accordance with school policy
6-8.2.b. Students demonstrate and advocate for positive, safe, legal, and ethical behavior when using technology and when interacting with others online
6-8.2.c. Students demonstrate and advocate for an understanding of intellectual property including copyright, permission, and fair use by including appropriate citation and attribution elements
Objectives:
In this unit, students will be using their math knowledge to manipulate a logo they will create. Students will come up with a logo, use that logo to practice translations, dilations, rotations, reflections. Students will then use those congruence and similarity properties to create their own “Warhol-esque” art from their logo.
Students that have access to such programs can use Desmos or your favorite graphing program.
Students will create their logo, translate, rotate, dilate and reflect their logos.
Students will then use these practices to modify their logos.
Additionally, students can then create their art digitally to be produced into a sticker (Cricut) or finished however you see fit.
Agenda
Day 1
Review rotations, reflections, translations, dilations.
Connect the terms with art/design.
Have students play with simulators and paint programs.
Provide assignment: Personal logo design using transformations.
Day 2
Logo creation
Rotate, Dilate, reflect and translate the logo to make art/designs
Label the art as examples of the four terms of congruence
Walking gallery, showcase, exhibit work
Connect to Cricut - future lesson
Big Question: Can math make art?
Tessellations, Fractals, Fibonacci sequence… Some student responses may include these examples.
8th graders have learned about Dilation, Reflection, Rotation, Translation in math.
Could this be considered art?
Let students explore:
PLAYTIME - link to reflection painter
PLAYTIME - link to rotation painter
ASK: if they can identify any math properties in this paint program
Hands-on Activity Instructions
Hands-on Activity Instructions
Examples, Definitions, Models
Assessment
Students will be able to create or use a logo to successfully demonstrate the four types of geometric transformations: Rotation, Dilation, Reflection, Translation.
Students can create their work digitally or by hand, depending on resources and desired outcome.
Students can work individually to perform the task, and as a group to ensure all members work demonstrates the learning objectives. This can be done with peer review, walking galleries, etc.
Differentiation
In small groups, we can use examples of the logos provided on slides 8 and 9. Students can be given whiteboards to respond to questions such as:
Remediation
Extension/Enrichment
Students may find they want to create their own logo, or work with a current logo and improve it.
Students can find patterns in logos regarding symmetry, methods of transformations and even color. Have students make note of those patterns and see if they can incorporate them into their logo.
Students can ask why the above patterns are found. For example, why are so many logos round? Is there a connection between the amount of symmetry and the appeal of the logo?