Like most American colleges, the old University of New Hampshire academic logo was long overdue for a makeover, so the school’s officials hired a big time company in New York City to whip up some fancy new logos that would make kids in the Northeast change the way they think about selecting schools. The results, as you can see above, are certainly logos, but when they were recently presented to current UNH students, they weren’t very well received.
And once everyone learned that UNH paid the firm of Chermayeff & Geismer & Haviv as much as $108,200 to design those three ideas, the complaints only grew in scale and fist-shaking rage. For instance, check out the unfiltered fury of these two students that were interviewed by CBS Boston.
“I don’t like them too much,” said student Joel Ford.
Many students echoed that sentiment.
“I thought the first two were boring and kind of lame,” said student Louisa Normington.
I assume that riot police showed up within minutes. But of course the university’s officials are defending the relatively simple designs that cost approximately $35,000 each.
“Change is difficult for people,” said UNH Marketing professor Catherine Blake. “A new logo can bring energy to the institution. We’re really bringing UNH into the 21st century.”
Adding, “And some people think that marketing degrees are useless, but I swear to God they’re not!”
Besides, it’s not like UNH’s leaders just called up the firm and said, “Hey, whip us up something that looks like an upside down ass and here’s some cash.” They put A LOT of thought into the process.
“It’s more than just a design,” said UNH spokeswoman Erika Mantz in a statement. “This is about branding the university and it involved extensive market research and countless hours of interviews.”
Nice try, UNH’s own Lindsay Naegle, but it’s clear that the students want more of an opinion in this matter, and as the people who are entering into a life of student loan debt are essentially paying this $108,000, I’d say they deserve it.
So here’s my solution – as the person who has already designed the new College Football Playoffs logo and the Dallas Mavericks uniforms – I haven’t checked but I assume they were both accepted – I am going to design UNH’s new logo as well. Don’t worry, I’m not going to get all elaborate like I have in the past, and I will still offer a very conservative-yet-modern logo. You can PayPal the $108,000 to doodiefart69@blasianchicks.taint.
Let’s start with the simple blue background, but let’s give it a little pop.
Everyone loves blue glitter. It’s usually all over my favorite strippers. Now let’s add the school’s letters.
Already looking like an Ivy League logo, if you ask me. Now, each letter should be highlighted to give this some extra pizzazz. The shield look is too fuddy duddy for my taste, so let’s explore some basic shapes for a unique-but-classic look.
I think the circles look amazing. The right one seems to hang a little different than the left, but the real logos tend to do that. So let’s add one more shape to make this design pop. How about a triangle, a symbol of power and equality…
Yeah, that’s hot. Let’s send that to print. You’re welcome, UNH.
