How returning to college led to a winning design

Though she has a culinary degree, Lauren Turner took a chance on graphic design and won the praise of her peers.

Lauren Turner had mixed feelings about going back to college. A 2014 culinary graduate from SUNY Delhi, she works full-time as a manager and cookie decorator at a bakery. She also accepts personal baking requests and sells her work at local markets.

Still, Lauren liked the idea of picking up graphic design skills. She knew she could enroll in FLCC’s fully online graphic design program and avoid a 45-minute commute from her home in Greece.

Despite moments of anxiety about her decision to become a student again, Lauren has found success. 

“It’s nerve-wracking to go to college at 18, but it’s nerve-wracking as an adult, too, because you’ve already been working and know the world a bit more — but no one truly knows,” said Lauren. 

Lauren's wine label design titled Embracing Vines. This December, her design, titled Embracing Vines, was selected by second-year students in the viticulture and wine technology program for the College’s annual wine label design competition. 

The Embracing Vines design incorporates wine stains, grape vines, and a leaf embedded with the outlines of the Finger Lakes. Lauren said the design is intended to represent the collaborative, interconnected work of the viticulture students while highlighting the close community ties of the Finger Lakes wine region. 

Thirteen students competed in the annual event, presenting their label designs and answering questions during a gallery-style reception. Student winemakers then held a final vote to determine their preferred label. 

“Winning something like this definitely helps settle those nerves and reminds me, ‘You’re doing this for a reason. You’ve got this,’” said Lauren.  

Combining culinary and creativity 

For the competition, the student winemakers requested images of the Finger Lakes and ample negative space to avoid a crowded design. Lauren used resources from home to create some of the elements. 

Hand-cut linoleum that Lauren used for her label design. Through years of decorating cookies and creating custom cakes, Lauren built strong artistic skills that carried beyond the bakery. For the label, she hand-cut vines and leaves into linoleum, a more flexible medium than wood. She also stained watercolor paper for texture before digitizing the elements in Adobe Photoshop. Once she assembled the final layout, she selected a scripted font for the brand name.  

“I thought of the beautiful veins that are found on leaves and wanted to make them the Finger Lakes,” explained Lauren. “They are the veins running through our section of the world.” 

Since age 15, Lauren has worked in the restaurant industry as a line cook, banquet chef and bakery manager. 

“I’m used to being allowed to be creative for a client’s requested design while also knowing some clients will request less creativity if they strictly want something like a Bluey cake,” said Lauren, referring to the animated puppy from an Australian TV show. 

Following the win, Lauren will continue her work to create labels for all the 2025 varieties being produced. She will also work with viticulture students, graphic design professor Liz Brownell, and the viticulture and wine technology coordinator, Gina Lee, to fine tune her design to meet legal requirements for alcoholic beverage labels.  

As the contest winner, Lauren will receive a $500 scholarship.  

Background on the competition 

The show was printed and mounted for exhibition by students Brook Calviera and Zachary Abraham under the direction of Amy McGowan, tech specialist in graphic design. The annual wine label competition at the FLCC Viticulture and Wine Center in Geneva is a highlight event for students, faculty, staff and the community.  

It is intended to provide real-world experience. Students receive a client brief, deadline, and opportunity to present their design to the student winemakers before they determine a winner.  

This collaboration between the College’s graphic design and viticulture and wine technology programs produces a commercially available product that represents the culmination of all the students’ work.  

Last summer, a student-produced 2023 vintage with the “Fresca Leyenda” label won a gold medal at the New York Wine Classic and was named Best in Class for pétillant naturel wine. Alumna Laura Lopez '25 designed the Fresca Leyenda label.

What’s next? 

In spring 2026, viticulture students will bottle Embracing Vines brand wines, which will be available for purchase at a later date. FLCC-made wines are sold at Ryan’s Wine and Spirits in Canandaigua and at Pedulla’s Wine and Liquor and Bottleland in Geneva. 

Graphic design students will have the opportunity to participate in additional design competitions, including designing the 2026 FLCC Spring Arts Festival poster and the summer concert series poster and apparel for the Constellation Brands Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center (CMAC).   

For an online tour of the FLCC Viticulture and Wine Center and an online form for ordering wine directly from the College, visit the wine center webpage.

Information about the viticulture and wine technology and the graphic design programs can be found on the College website at flcc.edu.