The Office of the President sent a campus-wide email Wednesday morning informing the Hilltop of a new Bradley logo system replacing the former wordmark logo, which was introduced in the 90s.
Several design faculty and staff were a part of the two-year long project, according to University Spokesperson Renee Charles.
“[Creating a new logo] became a priority project last month,” Charles said. “We are trying to uniformly brand the university.”
Charles said this new logo is very similar to the Athletics Department logo, but they will still be used separately.
“The BU shield … is smaller so that there’s more emphasis on Bradley as opposed to the shield, [and] the font is different from athletics’— it’s a more academic font versus the strong, sporty looking font that the Athletics Department uses,” Charles said.
One of the logo system’s designers, Bradley art director Sarah Dukes, said the Office of Marketing and Publications started working on a logo design similar to the Athletics Department’s logo about nine months after that logo was released in August of 2012.
“Many fonts were explored at this time, with the goal of resetting the university name to pair better with the shield,” Dukes said. “Also, several shield variations for the university side were considered. These options were shown to every constituent group on campus … with a large majority of positive feedback.”
However, some students feel their opinions were not heard or asked for.
“I wish we would’ve been asked for that kind of feedback as a student body because it’s our school too, and we should have a presence and a voice,” Zandra Conley, a senior interactive media major, said. “For instance, I’m designing the logo for the company I’m working for right now, and we just sent out an entire [message] today … and we had the whole company vote on the logo, so I would’ve liked to see something like that.”
Conley said she likes parts of the design, though.
“One thing I do appreciate is that they are finally letting the whole university use the shield, whereas before it was only athletics, but they didn’t incorporate [the shield] very well,” Conley said.
Charles said this new logo’s purpose was in part to modernize visual elements of Bradley’s brand.
“The font is a little different, it has a modern feel to it, and the shield is a much more modern look,” Charles said.
The logo system includes three configurations: left aligned, centered and horizontal.
“With this new logo system, there are varieties, where in the past it was a one size fits all,” Charles said. “There are rules of how to use those so that everybody has that consistent look, but yet, this new system gives you options.”
The new system was designed to grow with the university’s needs, according to Dukes.
“If there’s a popular need for something we haven’t addressed, my office will develop solutions, present them to the appropriate administrative council, implement them and inform everyone of the changes,” Dukes said. “The key word is ‘flexibility.’”
According to Charles, the name “Bradley University” is registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, which means products bearing the university’s name or logo must be licensed.
“The main reason for these compliance issues is we want to have a cohesive look,” Charles said. “It’s really important that all of our media as well as … all entities and pieces of the university adhere to the guidelines because we need to have a consistent use.”
Organizations or clubs are not required to use the new logo, but if they do, they must comply with these standards. However, all branches and colleges must use the new logo system.
“We know there will be lots of questions, and there is lots of staff available to help with any questions that people have,” Charles said.
Individuals with questions can go to Bradley.edu/identity or call/visit the Office of Marketing and Publications or the Office of Public Relations.
