Logo designer needed for arboretum visual mark

The Heritage Arboretum at Colorado State University is a 50-year-old facility focused on displaying and evaluating a collection of living trees adapted for landscapes in the High Plains and Rocky Mountain region, including plants used for plant materials courses. We inspire and equip people to appreciate and steward trees adapted to the harsh conditions of landscapes throughout Colorado and surrounding areas. We fulfill our purpose through education, research, and sustainable practices in a landscape dedicated to people and trees. We would like to develop a new visual identity marker for the arboretum celebrating its distinct identity and core purpose. The logo must be a single, cohesive vector mark. Conceptually, we envision a tree trunk cross section outline containing topographic contour lines instead of growth rings. The outline can be slightly irregular and non-circular, mimicking the natural, organic shape of a real tree trunk cross-section rather than a perfect circle. The countour lines should evoke the circular, concentric nature of tree rings while also clearly showing elevation contours. If permissible by copyright, the lines can be extracted from an actual topographic map of peaks, ravines, or canyons in the Colorado Front Range, but they can also be imagined to better accomplish design goals. To help with interpretation, the contour lines should be labeled with realistic elevations in a realistic style, possibly similar to USGS topographic maps. We are open to revising the entire concept and specific elements for better outcomes with a talented, inspired designer. The final deliverable will be a vector format (.SVG, .EPS) image in full color, all-black, and all-white variations.