Shown above (l - r): Kelp Crest, Tide Pool, and Coral Cove logos
These logos are inspired by the 2025–26 Carmel River School yearbook design, where they began as crests on the front and back covers, each part of a story about otters, friendship, and the place where the river meets the ocean. Designed by Mandy Coon and Marie-Clare Gorham, the Kelp Crest, Tide Pool, and Coral Cove carry that story off the page and into the year ahead.
The 2025–26 Carmel River School yearbook opens and closes with a crest. Together, the front and back covers tell a story: of bravery, connection, and kindness.
It is said that where the river meets the ocean, something special takes root.
Though the school year now came to a close like a tide gently pulling away, what was gathered here - friendship, courage, wonder - remains, within the current of memory.
At the beginning, two sea otters faced one another across a scallop shell, as if sharing a secret. Legend has it the shell quietly collects the best moments of the year- bursts of laughter, new ideas, growing courage, and unexpected bonds- tucking them safely inside like treasures from the tide. The otters kept watch over it together, for no story is meant to be held alone.
Above them, crossed lobster claws rose as in an ancient coat of arms. But these are not symbols of battle.; they mark a different kind of bravery- the kind that stands beside a friend, takes responsibility, and chooses kindness even when it is not the easiest path.
All around, curling strands of kelp grew into the shape of a shield, swaying as if dancing in an underwater breeze. The kelp bends and flutters, yet remains anchored- growing, adapting, and reaching upward towards the light.
By the end, the waters grow calm.
A single sea otter rests upon its shell, this year’s stories now gathered and held; the knowledge learned and the friendships made protected like a pearl. Around it, strands of red coral rise like bright constellations- each branch a connection, each piece part of something larger, built slowly and together; forever intertwined.
A banner carries an old and borrowed phrase:
“By land and water we flourish.”
So it is for the Otters.
For some grow on solid ground, through study, practice, and steady steps forward.
Others drift and discover, through curiosity, play, and unexpected tides.
But here, in this meeting place of both, something stronger forms: a community that learns to move between worlds, to adapt, to support, and to thrive together.
These crests tell the tale of an unforgettable school year- of Otters who learned, played, and discovered together, who bravely tried new things and supported each other.
If you close your eyes, you might even imagine you can hear it...
The soft splash of the river, the hush of the ocean,
and the echo of a year that will never quite drift away-
carried forward, as all things are, by land and water alike.
The Logo Collection:
Kelp Crest- The front cover crest, where the story begins. Two otters keep watch over a scallop shell full of the year’s best moments, beneath crossed lobster claws for the bravery of standing beside a friend. A shield of kelp sways around them, always anchored and always reaching toward the light.
Tide Pool- The resting otter from the back cover, curled in its shell with the year’s stories gathered and held. It’s ringed in kelp and the seashells the tide carries in, small treasures from the place where the river meets the ocean.
Coral Cove- Our trusty otter, framed by branches of red coral that rise like bright constellations. Each branch marks a connection made this year, built slowly and together, so a piece of the story goes with you.