Hazelwood Resident's Design to Be Featured on Orbit Gum

alum and Missouri School of Journalism student and musician Brad Siegler can add one more thing to his resume: gum package designer.

The along with his fellow University of Missouri colleague, Emily Herron, had their designs selected to be featured on packages of Orbit's new Melon Remix gum.

They are two of the eight winning package designs that were chosen by Wrigley gum, but don't be too surprised. It just means their college educations are paying off. Siegler and Herron are both J-school students seeking degrees with an emphasis in strategic communication.

Each receive $5,000 in cash and the pleasure of seeing their designs, personal signature included, on gum packages on store counters everywhere.

Siegler is a musician who said his design was "inspired by music and a retro color scheme." Siegler also said he felt the rectangular shape of the gum pack resembled a cassette tape, which is the focus of his design concept.

“I was worried that without the use of black and white, I couldn’t make a cohesive design,” he said. “However, the neon colors really sparked my 1980s ideology and seemed to fit really well with my music theme.”

The contest notice was sent out in the spring to college students across the country majoring in design, art and communications programs. The company received hundreds of entries in what it calls the first-ever series of crowd-sourced gum packs, according to a Wrigley statement.

“The effort and overall quality of work we received from the student designers far exceeded our expectations” said Victor Mehren, Marketing Director at Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company. “We hope the winners are as excited as we are to see their own personally designed gum packs on shelves later this December.”

The eight, limited edition pack designs will be available starting this month and will remain on shelves through the end of February.