And the winner of the $25,000 prize is ... Laura Howard, a 29-year-old graphic design student at the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
The judges of a nationwide contest organized by El Segundo-based Cereplast picked Howard's design for a new symbol to identify products made from bioplastics -- which consist of biological material such as vegetable oil and cornstarch, and are not petroleum-based.
Cereplast, which designs and manufactures these plastics, timed the announcement to coincide with Earth Day, which is today.
Howard's symbol resembles a flower, and incorporates a hexagon placed atop two leaves.
Cereplast's Make Your Mark competition was modeled after a 1970 contest by the Container Corporation of America that led to the creation of the now-universal recycling symbol.
"Obviously over time the recycling symbol has evolved," said Nicole Cardi, Cereplast's vice president and marketing and communication. "It's definitely become a symbol of also the green movement in a way."
The bioplastics signifier will be used initially by manufacturers utilizing Cereplast material, Cardi said.
The company announced its winner Thursday night at an event at the Herman Miller showroom in Los Angeles.
Cardi said more than 1,500 designs were submitted and 2.8 million public votes cast to determine the top 200 entries, which were then turned over to a panel of judges.
The judges of a nationwide contest organized by El Segundo-based Cereplast picked Howard's design for a new symbol to identify products made from bioplastics -- which consist of biological material such as vegetable oil and cornstarch, and are not petroleum-based.
Cereplast, which designs and manufactures these plastics, timed the announcement to coincide with Earth Day, which is today.
Howard's symbol resembles a flower, and incorporates a hexagon placed atop two leaves.
Cereplast's Make Your Mark competition was modeled after a 1970 contest by the Container Corporation of America that led to the creation of the now-universal recycling symbol.
"Obviously over time the recycling symbol has evolved," said Nicole Cardi, Cereplast's vice president and marketing and communication. "It's definitely become a symbol of also the green movement in a way."
The bioplastics signifier will be used initially by manufacturers utilizing Cereplast material, Cardi said.
The company announced its winner Thursday night at an event at the Herman Miller showroom in Los Angeles.
Cardi said more than 1,500 designs were submitted and 2.8 million public votes cast to determine the top 200 entries, which were then turned over to a panel of judges.
