UTA Unveils New Logo

[Eagle-96]

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/13880540.htm

PATRICK McGEESTAR-TELEGRAM STAFF WRITER

ARLINGTON — The University of Texas at Arlington's new logo features a large blue "A" and is embedded with the Star of Texas. But for the first time since becoming part of the UT System in 1967, the letters "U" and "T" are absent from the university's emblem.

Instead, in smaller letters under the main logo, reads "The University of Texas." Under that, in larger letters reads, "Arlington."

UT-Arlington president James Spaniolo said the new logo is not an attempt to downplay the university's affiliation with one of the nation's best known university systems.

"It doesn't downplay 'University of Texas,' it highlights Arlington," Spaniolo said after the unveiling of the new brand to hundreds of cheering students showered by confetti.

Dipankar Chakravarti, a University of Colorado marketing professor said the name "University of Texas" must be at least somewhat prominent.

"If people can identify what the logo stands for very quickly then they tend to judge it favorably," said Chakravarti, past president of the Society for Consumer Psychology.

He said he would give UT-Arlington's new logo a five on a scale of one to seven.

"It's hard to have something spectacular that will knock your socks off, but in terms of logo design it seems to hit the checkslist of the criteria pretty well," he said. UT System officials said they support the new brand.

"We congratulate the University of Texas at Arlington and President Spaniolo on the launch of their new branding initiative," system chancellor Mark Yudof said in a statement. "UTA is a great university with an important story to tell about the success of their faculty, students and alumni."

Using an outside public relations firm and focus groups, the university spent nearly $355,000 developing and promoting the new brand, which was designed by a staff artist in the university's publications department. The University of North Texas spent about $200,000 less for the new brand it came up with last year.

Several students pointed out that the new logo is highlighted in orange, anchoring UT-Arlington to the flagship university in Austin, which has orange as its school color.

"The simplicity appeals to me. I like how they include the orange, it's there but it's not intrusive," said Stephanie Holljes, 20, a junior studying information systems.

Jeff Mooradian, 20, a sophomore was also won over.

"I like it a lot. The old one was kind of plain and boring. This one's got a little bit of flair and style," the mechanical engineering major said.

UT-Arlington's logo and new slogan – "Be A Maverick" – will be a spring board for an advertising campaign that starts with an advertisement in Texas Monthly magazine next month and a capital campaign that will come later.

Experts say a brand is not just a logo, but the image – or promise – an organization tries to project to the public. Spaniolo said the promise of UT-Arlington's brand will focus on the university's excellence.

"Our promise is UT-Arlington is a comprehensive research university committed to empowerment," he said. "This is UT-Arlington, and this is what it means to be a Maverick."

Spaniolo said the university will follow up with advertising campaigns in North Texas and Houston that target high school students and their parents about the quality of undergraduate education UT-Arlington offers.

Spaniolo and other officials said they were stunned by the huge turnout.

Many hundreds of students had to be turned away from the brand launch event for lack of space in the Bluebonnet Ballroom where the brand was unveiled.

Students in the ballroom cheered to performances by the university's drum line and cheerleaders. They cheered louder when the logo was first shown on large screens. Confetti was pumped from the ceilings, and cheerleaders threw a few baseball hats with the new logo into the crowd.

[axis]

meh

I'm not really impressed

Edited February 15, 2006 by axis

[Baby Arm!]

Using an outside public relations firm and focus groups, the university spent nearly $355,000 developing and promoting the new brand, which was designed by a staff artist in the university's publications department. The University of North Texas spent about $200,000 less for the new brand it came up with last year.

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Guess we got a bargain then? They managed to spend 200k more and did the design in-house? WOW

[Guest Aquila_Viridis]

Our eagle logo puts that 'A' thing to shame. LOVE THE EAGLE!

[ipEAGLE]

Looks pretty good... not an athletic mark though.

And some of you guys complained about this:

We have a great logo... now if we just start using it.

[Will to Win]

I second the motion!

Would the "eagle swoop" logo look good on our helmuts?

[NT91]

Yes.... start at the 50 yd line.

[ipEAGLE]

Yes.... start at the 50 yd line.

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That would look so sweet on our field... we can only hope.

[drex]

OK, let me get this straight, the school colors of UTA are red white and blue and the new logo is blue white and orange. Good gosh, and we thought our logo endeavor was a fiasco. When Arlington State got sucked into the Texas system they lost most of their alumni base when the system crammed Mavericks down their throats in place of Rebels that they had used for years. It should be interesting to see how the die hard red white and blue backers like going to orange. How many Texans were involved in this decision, I wonder. How many alumni of UTA were involved in this decision? I bet the number is 0.

[NT91]

The spirit logo.

http://www.uta.edu/graphicidentity/guideli...spirit-logo.php

UTA plate

http://www.dot.state.tx.us/vtr/spplates/sp...late.htm?nbr=42

Edited February 16, 2006 by NT91

[NDT]

The spirit logo looks more like UIA to me.

[NT80]

OK, let me get this straight, the school colors of UTA are red white and blue and the new logo is blue white and orange.  Good gosh, and we thought our logo endeavor was a fiasco.  When Arlington State got sucked into the Texas system they lost most of their alumni base when the system crammed Mavericks down their throats in place of Rebels that they had used for years.  It should be interesting to see how the die hard red white and blue backers like going to orange. How many Texans were involved in this decision, I wonder.  How many  alumni of UTA were involved in this decision?  I bet the number is 0.

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Did their school colors change? There is no red to be found on any of the logos or wordmarks, but orange has been added to several. I'm not fond of the "A" or emphasis on Arlington, looks and sounds too high-schoolish. It's like UTEP going to an "EP" logo.

[ADLER]

The spirit logo looks more like UIA to me.

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I thought the same thing about the multi-color logo.

On another subject, they should have seized the opportunity and dumped the Mavericks moniker during the change. It's an abstract mascot without any identity, and there is no possible way that UT-Arlington can compete with the local NBA team for the name recognition. (And yes, I know that UTA had the name first, but that just doesn't matter. The Dallas Mavericks will always be thought of as "the Mavericks" in the Dallas/Fort Worth region.)

And for the record, MOOVIN' MAVS was plain horrible.

Edited February 16, 2006 by ADLER

[pollock]

He said he would give UT-Arlington's new logo a five on a scale of one to seven.

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Ahh, the always-recognizable 7-point scale.

[Eagle1855]

Ahh, the always-recognizable 7-point scale.

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yeah I was a bit confused by that... but 7 seems to be the appropriate number. Remember,

"7's the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. 7 doors. 7, man, that's the number. 7 chipmunks twirlin' on a branch, eatin' lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea. It's like you're dreamin' about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time, baby. Step into my office. Ted: Why? Hitchhiker: 'Cause you're fired! "

[UNTLifer]

Did their school colors change?  There is no red to be found on any of the logos or wordmarks, but orange has been added to several.  I'm not fond of the "A" or emphasis on Arlington, looks and sounds too high-schoolish.  It's like UTEP going to an "EP" logo.   

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Helwig must have been in on the deal. Either that, or FFR decided to drop in and sell the blue and copper to them.

[GreenBat]

The A reminds me of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Arizona Diamondbacks

[Stan R]

The A reminds me of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Arizona Diamondbacks

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Bingo!! I was about to type that exact same thing!

[ADLER]

yeah I was a bit confused by that... but 7 seems to be the appropriate number. Remember,

"7's the key number here. Think about it. 7-Elevens. 7 doors. 7, man, that's the number. 7 chipmunks twirlin' on a branch, eatin' lots of sunflowers on my uncle's ranch. You know that old children's tale from the sea. It's like you're dreamin' about Gorgonzola cheese when it's clearly Brie time, baby. Step into my office. Ted: Why? Hitchhiker: 'Cause you're fired! "

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Ya know, Seven would make a great name for a son.

[ntsumgspe]

Bingo!! I was about to type that exact same thing! 

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Similiar to our use of the US Postal eagle.

[Stan R]

Similiar to our use of the US Postal eagle. 

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No I don't think so. Not at all. Our logo is quite a bit different.

[Go_UTA]

Whether intentional or not (probably not), the new logo and wordmark follow a pattern used in the highly regarded University of California System. That is, the city is emphasized (larger font) as a differentiator in the market place. If you care to, take a look at the websites of the University of California at Santa Cruz or Berkeley. Not bad examples...

The branding keeps blue and white as our predominant colors, but brings in a bit of orange (academic colors since 1965). Blue & white go back deep into institutional history further than I know. Yet, it seems appropriate to me to introduce the orange. It is a great outline color, and has been on campus for a long time, too (but not so well known to the outside public). This logo & wordmark tend to end that schizophrenia that has existed by bringing the colors together. BTW, red has never been a university color. I believe the athletic department - on their own - has used it as a highlight color. That's what athletic departments do if they are not supervised or given direction.

Gee, we are approaching 500 hits on this subject! Didn't know so many of you guys were interested in our doings!

Hey, we got it done without a logogate, a micro-managing chancellor, or a lot or acrimony and harsh feelings, too! Now, keep your eyes open for advertising in the DFW and Houston markets!

[NT80]

Whether intentional or not (probably not), the new logo and wordmark follow a pattern used in the highly regarded University of California System.  That is, the city is emphasized (larger font) as a differentiator in the market place.  If you care to, take a look at the websites of the University of California at Santa Cruz or Berkeley.  Not bad examples...

The branding keeps blue and white as our predominant colors, but brings in a bit of orange (academic colors since 1965).  Blue & white go back deep into institutional history further than I know.  Yet, it seems appropriate to me to introduce the orange.  It is a great outline color, and has been on campus for a long time, too (but not so well known to the outside public).  This logo & wordmark tend to end that schizophrenia that has existed by bringing the colors together.  BTW, red has never been a university color.  I believe the athletic department - on their own - has used it as a highlight color.  That's what athletic departments do if they are not supervised or given direction.

Gee, we are approaching 500 hits on this subject!  Didn't know so many of you guys were interested in our doings!     

Hey, we got it done without a logogate, a micro-managing chancellor, or a lot or acrimony and harsh feelings, too!  Now, keep your eyes open for advertising in the DFW and Houston markets!

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What's the latest on fundraising for the new UTA gym? Any more talk about bringing football back to campus? I started college at UTA and have always been curious about their athletic direction. They never seemed to break away with their own identity like UTEP has nor found enough of a fan base in Arlington for successful athletics.

[UNTLifer]

Ya know, Seven would make a great name for a son.

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Underrated post.

[Go_UTA]

NT80, the Special Events Center is still in the works. In fact, our president was quoted in today's Shorthorn as saying that the brand launch emphasized the need for it (the turn-out was nothing short of astounding, and hundreds were turned away). The work to put this deal together is still behind the scenes, but as long as our president is putting his neck out there and associating himself with the project, I have high hopes. In fact, if you look at "Support UT Arlington" from the main web site, you will notice that the Special Events Center is one of the initiatives that they are working on.

Reportedly, there are two other groups that would like to go in on this with us. This kind of partnership is what it is going to take to raise the funds to get this built. As you doubtless know, the state isn't building these amenities anymore. Our original concept drawings planned for 6,500 permanent seats (plus floor seating), but, according to the papers, both potential partners want something larger (one wants 8,500, and the other 10,000...personally, I don't want it too large). Last I heard, they are trying to put together a financing package within the next 3 or so months. So, I hope we have something take the Board of Regents and Coordinating Board before the year is over.

The proposed site is on the South 40. This location seems great to me because it is highly visible, adjacent to plenty of parking, and would define the southern edge of the campus.

Football won't be considered at least until this arena is done. I'm not against football, but I definitely want to remedy this arena situation first. Build-up what we already have.

The very significant increase in on-campus housing (this isn't the same campus as it was in 1985) and a student turn-out at yesterday's event that apprently blew everyone away makes me very optimistic that we can increase interest and attendance in sports if done right. And, "right" to me means a facility that gets us out of the ditch compared to everyone else in the world and a good coach.

Of course, sports is just one component of a rich student life and positive external identity. I think UT Arlington is working on a lot of fronts. I think we have a lot of momentum right now due to an amazing president who knows how to communicate and understands all facets, e.g., research, teaching, student life, etc. Building research capacity is a particular emphases right now. Like UNT, we are classified as one of six "Emerging Research Universities" in by the Coordinating Board.

You guys need to get a great president, because this is all-important. A good one can take a university to new heights, while a bad or mediocre one will hinder just about everything.