Making College and University Logos That Inspire, and Last

Cathy Donovan [00:00:00]:

Cathy Donovan [00:00:00]:

Hello and welcome to Campus Spirit, a special series on Innovating Enrollment Success where we explore bold brand ideas and practical engagement strategies. All to help higher education institutions grow, connect, and thrive. I’m your host Cathy Donovan, agency marketing director at Paskill, where we support all kinds of institutions with brand, enrollment marketing, websites, and more.

Today we’re tackling something iconic, the college logo. What makes a logo last? How does it reflect campus spirit and what happens when it’s no longer working? To answer that, we’re joined by two people who know the power of a great mark Frank Delaney, associate creative director at Paskill, and Jim Paskill, founder and president.

Jim has shaped nearly every major Paskill account since founding the agency. Bringing deep expertise in brand strategy, enrollment marketing, and analytics. A sought-after national presenter, he shared insights on elevating brand at AMA for the United States Coast Guard Academy and boosting enrollment at NCMPR for Three Rivers College.

Frank is an award-winning creative who has led standout campaigns for institutions like Point Park University and Goldey-Beacom College. With a background in consumer branding for Fila and Hilton, he brings a sharp eye for logo design and a passion for story-driven content that sets higher ed brands apart.

We’ll also hear some written reflections from Nick DeNucci, senior graphic designer and illustrator who has designed dozens of logos that have stood the test of time. Welcome, Jim and Frank.

Jim Paskill: Thank you, Cathy. Thanks for having us.

Frank Delaney: Hi. Great to be here. Thank you.

Cathy Donovan: Well, let’s get started. So, Jim, you’ve been working with higher ed logos for decades. What have you seen change in how institutions think about their logos?

Jim Paskill: Yeah, I think two things really come to mind with that question. I think the first thing we’ve seen in recent years, at least within the past five to seven years, is keeping up with the Jones’ mentality. You know, our competitors have a new visual identity, we need one as well. We see a lot of that happening. There really seems to be a pattern of change for change’s sake, if you will.

And I think one thing to keep in mind is that college logos over time build brand equity for an institution. Before making a significant change, the time and cost of rebuilding that brand equity needs to be considered. And then I think the second thing that really comes to mind is the sheer number of different environments a college logo appears in. Websites, social media, digital advertising, seen on cell phones, on tablets, within publications, the list goes on and on. College logos really need to be designed to reproduce well in all of these applications.

Cathy Donovan: Makes sense. How about you, Frank? How does visual identity play into the student experience today?

Frank Delaney: Yeah, I think Jim kind of mentioned how lately in this current generation, the logo has to do so much work. It’s in so many more locations. And one I would add, Jim, is, you know, a sweatshirt on the back of a student. Those logos have to look great. There’s so many more swag options now, so whether that school is a top 10 school or if it’s just a great institution in your region, it still has to have really great swag and really look good on a hoodie or a hat.

So, I think that’s one thing. I hate to say it, but unfortunately, students look at that, they look at, is that something that I want to wear or is that something I want on my back? Because they’re buying into the whole thing, the institution and the way it looks and makes them feel. There’s definitely a component, a fashion component, if you will, of that logo.

Cathy Donovan: Well, it’s daunting because it sounds like a lot of work. So you got to start somewhere though. We did ask Nick what are some of those first ideas that get you started on creating a logo? And he talks about, we’ll print all of this on a Q and A and share that link in our Show Notes, but he’s guided by the essence and identity of the institution.

What makes a college unique? You know, it’s history, its architecture, and values. The inspiration could come from a historical event or a founding story that defines a college legacy. Landmarks, natural features or cultural symbols. And here he sums it up, he says, “Ultimately, our goal is to reflect the character of the institution in a simple, memorable mark. We balance tradition with modern design sensibilities to create a logo that resonates emotionally and visually with its audience. By starting with the essence of the college, we ensure the logo feels authentic and tells a story that matters.”

That sounds easy, but determining the essence of a college with a lot of really smart people in a room sounds like it could be very difficult.

Jim Paskill: I think Nick mentioned a word there that I think is key and that is simplicity. That goes back to what Frank and I were both saying about the role that a logo has now on so many different applications. It has to be simple in terms of making it effective in reproducing in all of these different environments.

Over and over we see on identity redesign, we’re taking something that is very complex, whether it be an icon, an illustration of a building, even in the Coast Guard Academy’s where we took their seal and simplified it so that it would reproduce much better in all these applications. I think simplicity is a word that I think is very relevant for today’s college and university logos.

Cathy Donovan: How about you, Frank? Do you agree with that approach?

Frank Delaney: Yeah, that’s definitely that’s the luxury of having that history. You know, if your college is a hundred or more years old, you definitely have an old building. You have a probably a clock tower. You have some type of physical thing that really differentiates it.

However, if your school’s like 50 years or less, you definitely have a mascot. You know, you have something that’s a key visual feature and you can play that up. Almost like keeping up with the current design trends where I’ve seen some of the best logos, and I’m just going to throw one out there like Notre Dame where their mascot has taken on the style of the fashion du jour of what a character looks like as far as like, whether it’s Disney-esque or it’s a little more anime-related.

You can see those mascots, which are the more current iteration of designs take on the flavor of the day, so to speak. So absolutely. I think it’s the differentiator whether you have legacy or you’re really amplifying your mascot. And not to get too deep, but definitely typography plays a part in that, the contemporary versus the historical. There’s a lot of nuance that you can differentiate with, for sure.

Jim Paskill: I think it’s important, while it needs to feel contemporary, it also needs to be timeless. You know, we don’t want a logo, an icon, a wordmark for a college or university that within a couple of years it’s going to feel dated. I think while it has to have that sense of relevance today it also needs to be timeless for tomorrow.

Cathy Donovan: That was my next question. Is thinking about how a logo could stand the test of time? So what I’m hearing is certainly simplicity and innovating where you can, right, based on the different platforms. Keeping it simple and keeping it true to the institution. But also making the students embrace it. It’s a big challenge for sure.

Jim Paskill: It is. But you know, I’m going to reveal my age here by going back and Frank it’s maybe too far back in design history for you, but back in the eighties there was a movement that came out of California and what we were seeing in a lot of graphic design, whether it be logos or publications, or different things, was a swash, a graphic swash.  And lo and behold a lot of colleges and universities started to adopt this look and redid their logos to incorporate this swash. Well, it seems as quickly as it came, it went, it fell out of favor. So a lot of these colleges had to rethink their identities again. So again, keeping things timeless and not just embracing the latest trend, but looking at it as Frank said, fonts, illustrative styles that are going to stand the test of time and feel fresh for years to come is important.

Cathy Donovan: What about involving key audiences in making this mark? And I think that’s a big part because they’re kind of the keepers of the brand, right? Not only your current students, but those current students that become your alumni and they’re embracing or not liking that logo for life. Jim, will you start us off talking a little bit about involving key audiences in making this mark?

Jim Paskill: When we have the opportunity to work with a college or a university regarding the process of designing, producing, and approving a new logo for their institution. When we have the ability to help shape what that approval process looks like we always find it’s important that we do bring in these different campus constituents. And what we recommend is basically an identity committee be formed that includes representatives from the student body, faculty, staff, administration, and alums.

Once this committee meets and the designs are presented to them and they can shortlist and come up with two or three that the group as a whole has approved and wants to move forward, we then recommend that those options be shared through key audiences getting buy-in. You know, all of the work that we do in enrollment marketing is about getting buy-in from the campus. It’s going to be embraced by that campus much faster and much more as a whole if those groups are part of the process from the beginning.

Cathy Donovan: I feel like it’s a success to Frank’s point earlier is when folks elect to put it on and wear it.

Frank Delaney: I think that point at the end there, Jim, is so important that you have all those decision makers in a room because you not only get buy-in early, but you hear things that you may not even thought to ask. You stoke conversations around the brand in general, possibilities, pain points that can influence future creative. So it’s really such an important time to have that round table of influence, not only for the logo, but for future work and future creative direction. So yeah, it’s a really key part of a great logo because like you said, you want to get buy-in. And you want everyone who is going be a part of that brand, that’s their day job. You know, that’s their Monday through Friday, but you want them to feel like they had some ownership in that creation. So that’s super important.

Cathy Donovan: And it seems like audience would be important when it comes time to modernize as well. We asked Nick, “did you ever have to modernize a logo? Kind of keep it traditional or not make it so modern that people can’t associate the new mark with the institution.

And he said, “yes, we’ve modernized logos while preserving their traditional essence. And the United States Coast Guard Academy logo’s a great example.

For over two centuries, they had primarily used a detailed traditional seal as its main visual identity. However, as digital platforms and diverse print needs evolve, that seal’s complexity just became a challenge for legibility and scalability.”

Jim and Frank, if you both will talk a little bit about helping the Coast Guard take this really traditional mark and modernize it and give them the strength that should come with an academy of their stature.

Jim Paskill: I think that’s a great example of really having a process during this redesign project. Simplicity was the key here, and Nick did a wonderful job of preserving the elements within that seal that have historical relevance. And once those designs were approved by the internal committee, it was sent out to a much wider audience of Academy alums, Coast Guard personnel within the service to get that feedback as well. So, it was a very collaborative process, but one that went fairly smoothly, simply because they stuck to their process.

Frank Delaney: Yeah, that logo is, I wouldn’t dare say simple, but it’s two to three colors that reproduce well on an embroidered hat, a brochure, the webpage, a TikTok channel. It’s designed in a way that it works on all these mediums. As Jim kind of alluded to earlier, we’re in a time where we’ve never had so many media channels to promote the school or to just promote anything in this current climate. So yeah, that logo, one thing I really like about it is it reproduces well on every format, every media type. That’s always top of mind when we’re pulled into a project to just think about how it scales and how it works across mediums for sure.

Jim Paskill: Yeah, and I think, Frank, you made a good point earlier about the importance of that logo and how it reproduces on swag, whether it be hats or T-shirts or hoodies, whatever that might be.  You know, with a new identity our goal is always to have that embraced by the campus community as quickly as possible. And one of the best ways to do that is to have it start to show up on the heads and the bodies of our student body. So don’t underestimate the importance of designing and really tweaking and making sure that the new logo works well on all of these different, all of this different swag.

An associate of mine and myself were on the Academy campus last week and went into their bookstore, and to see that logo represented in all the different ways.  Whether it be on coffee mugs, the list just goes on and on, golf shirts, and all kinds of different applications, it reproduces beautifully on all of them, and that’s so important.

Cathy Donovan: Well, that’s an example of when modernizing a logo went really well. I am curious to know when that redesign could go off track. Jim and Frank, if you could talk a little bit about what influences when an institution’s not ready for that redesign or maybe they’re making decisions that aren’t going to serve the long-term interest of the logo and the school.

Jim Paskill: I think that, you know, in our history of working with institutions on visual redesigns, when the process doesn’t go well, it’s because the institution is not sticking to the established process that they established at the start of the project. They’re not following the guidelines whether that be who is going to be on a committee, who is going to be part of the decision process.

That really kind of leads to one that we’ve often encountered and that is acquiescing to a single opinion and often that single opinion is the president of the institution. It can cause problems when the committee has determined through their due diligence and their process that this is the logo that we’re going with and the president has a different opinion.

It happens, we never recommend necessarily that the president be part of that committee. First of all, they have a lot of other duties. They don’t need to be burdened down by being part of this process. But also, presidents aren’t necessarily our primary audience for this logo, so their opinion, while it’s going t be listened to and valued, it shouldn’t override the process. And that’s often where we see things going awry.

Cathy Donovan: Right. And I can imagine that sometimes the president’s opinion or decision might go, and then you’re stuck with the logo and then that’s…

Jim Paskill: It carries a lot of weight.

Cathy Donovan: Right. And that’s my next question for Frank is, as a designer, when you get a logo that you’re struggling to incorporate it into some of the recruitment materials. I’m just curious, Frank, how logos do influence all that work that you do and what are some signs that a logo is really not working as best as it could?

Frank Delaney: Yeah, Jim made a great point. The process is so important because we’re thinking of all the pain points down the road. We’re thinking of, hey, you’re a small, mid-major in a very populated market and nobody knows where your city is. Well, we should have a logo mark that has the city in the logo mark. So we have to think of all those cases. We would never dare say that to the client, but we think about it in the sense that you, if you’re not like signing up to have at least four versions of your mark, you know, horizontal, vertical, small format, your location, your state, we know you’re not serious.

We know that we’re going to uncover a media or a type of creative platform that’s going to need that. For instance, when you’re in the bookstore on a campus, you know where you are, you know, the colors. If your team is like, say you have a great lacrosse team, or a really good football team, people already know you because of that brand halo around those academics. But if you’re a school that’s maybe, you know, you’re a great chess team and you have a really great nursing program, but there’s no other outward signs where nurses aren’t wearing your logo, so to speak.

You really have to start thinking of those other key areas like location and brand your logo with those marks and that really helps when it comes down to a targeted meta ad that someone might see and have really no quick snap response to. Where is this? What is this? Those are some of those key things that are part of that process. Jim mentioned that we try to add into the questions, the answers we need before we design. So once you get into the work, you start to really uncover some of those pain points of design.

And, you know, the fact that, we’ve done it for such a long time, we know to ask them upfront and really make the case of why we need those. Because you never really want to add in ad hoc creative to a logo to Jim’s point, it might be a six-month, 12-month process to get approval. You don’t want to be then adding things within the first year or two because you forgot about the importance of certain tactics.

Cathy Donovan: Before I get to both of you about some of your favorite higher ed logos, I did check in with Nick to say, what was the most memorable logo that he designed in his 30 years of doing this. And he said there’s two, of the most memorable college logos that he had the opportunity to design.

And one is the Bloomsburg University athletic logo and the Newman University logo. The Bloomsburg, Red Husky, he says, holds a special place in his heart because it was the very first logo that he worked on in the beginning of his career, and it marked in an important milestone for him professionally.

Knowing that it’s still in use today is incredibly rewarding. I see it all the time and it really is impressive to see that, to know that someone that I know and respect was involved with that. And then I love this story about Neumann University. Obviously, it’s going from college to a university. The team cares so much about the institution and all of the thinking and the processing that is going into what makes a good logo. And I just wanted to add this other factor that, sometimes it’s just out of collaboration.

Nick says, while brainstorming that final option that went through, all kinds of iterations and approvals, a colleague of Nick’s, Bob Oxman, happened to pass by his desk and noticed a small pencil sketch he had made with a simple idea of an N over u, separated by an arch. He pointed to it and just said, do me a favor and work that one up. And that rough doodle turned out to be a concept that was ultimately selected because of a lot of other factors. But I just wanted to have you both respond to that creative process. There’s a lot of research into brand messaging, and the process of getting buy-in, but there’s also just the importance of creative collaboration with your teammates and how ideas can come maybe in unexpected ways. Jim, I’m sure you have tons of stories over the years of how that collaboration has come to be.

Jim Paskill: Yeah. And that Neumann logo is a perfect example of that. That arch that divides those letters is, represents one of the iconic buildings on campus and the arch of its actual roof line. And that was something that, again, you know, you spread out options on the floor. We bring in a lot of creative staff and take a look and get feedback. Creativity is a collaborative process and logo design really fits that bill as well. It’s very important.

Cathy Donovan: Frank, anything to add on the creative process and collaboration?

Frank Delaney: Yeah, I think to put a fine point on Jim saying once you’re kind of set to develop a logo, the designers work within their sort of style and their reference to their sort of aesthetic. I think it’s nice to have a few folks that are one level removed that can just look at it as a pure consumer would look at it as in, did I get did that grab my attention?

Obviously, any good designers can have iterations, which are always great to see, but it’s always nice to have that nucleus or outer ring of folks that get a chance to kind of pop in, take a look, and really have a fresh take.

I think that’s the key when I’m working creatively, is when you’re having a little bit of writer’s block, you have to put it down, walk away, come back tomorrow, give it another look, and, and then make your judgment.  Not a snap judgment, so to speak, but more of give it a little bit of air to breathe, because sometimes you get lost in the work.

So yeah, having a team, at different levels, reviewing the work really helps kind of polish it and, really refine it, to back to Jim’s point, something that could be used for a long time and, almost be timeless is very important.

Cathy Donovan: And I think you can tell the logos that do stand the test of time, there’s a lot of care and thought that goes into it, you definitely feel that, that process.

Okay, so we’re going to close up with a little bit of a lightning round, and these are questions for both of you. Jim will answer first so he doesn’t tackle you, Frank.  Favorite higher ed logo not designed by Paskill, Jim?

Jim Pskill: Yeah, for me that’s an easy one. It’s my alma mater Temple University in Philadelphia, and they’re iconic T logo. It was actually designed by a colleague of mine a number of years ago.

It has certainly stood the test of time, and it’s a very strong icon in any application that it appears in. It’s just a terrific collegiate logo.

Cathy Donovan: Awesome. Frank?

Frank Delaney: Yeah, I think I’d say I like logos that are a little harder to get to personally. You know, obviously I like a lot of the great new mascots that I see, but MIT media labs about 10 years ago did a logo and this is part of the differentiator of a logo. They developed a logo for their media lab that was celebrating 20 years, and they developed it where you could go on their website and it would iterate a logo for you, and it had 20,000 permutations of the logo. You, as one of the staff, could pick one that was unique to you using the same elements.

And for me, that blended art, branding, and uniqueness all in one logo. And you know, obviously MIT’s not really trying to fill the seats as much as any other local school because it had that reputation, but it was a unique approach to a new, contemporary way of bringing that media lab to life through logo usage. So, it was very obscure, but also very memorable.

Cathy Donovan: Great and obviously brand launch is as exciting as the brand itself. I mean, that’s where the party’s at, so that sounds like a really fun way to get people excited about a new concept. Okay, Jim, most surprising logo impact story?

Jim Paskill: Yeah, and that one is Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma. We redid their logo probably about five or six years ago now. And when we were awarded the project, we were tasked with redesigning their current logo, using the name, the full name, Southern Nazarene University. And I had the privilege of being on campus to visit with the president who we worked with at a number of institutions. And while on campus in talking to students, talking to faculty, even talking to the president. No one referred to the institution as Southern Nazarene University, everyone referred to as SNU.

So following that campus visit, I made a phone call to the president and said, look “I think it’s really going to behoove us if we drop Southern Nazarene University as the main icon and go with SNU.”

He very quickly agreed. And we went through the process of approvals, and once that logo was approved, I was absolutely amazed at how quickly it was embraced by the campus community. My next visit to campus, it was very rewarding to see just that entire student body with that SNU logo.

Cathy Donovan: That’s awesome. How about you, Frank? Most surprising logo impact story?

Frank Delaney: I’d say I don’t have a particular story, but what I will say is when I’m down the line working on content creation, I’m always trying to push the brand guides or the logo guidelines for a school or a college. And, kind of what that means is if you have a shield or if you have a certain geographic or institution feature, whether it’s a clock tower or a dome, I’m going to really bring it to life. I’m going to try to build that shape or that look into a meta video or a commercial that we’re working on, or a type of postcard that needs to stand out.

So, I think as a designer, I look at that logo almost like a foundation of everything to come. I’ll dig deep. I’ll go back to some of the notes. I’ll look at some of Nick’s, if he’s developed any other things that were not used in the final logo, whether it be the shape of the shield or a mark. And I’ll try to bring them to life in animation or transitions or things that need to make a campaign for 2025 standout from a campaign for 2024. So, the impact comes from that logo and really trying to figure out what’s the iteration on that mark and be true to that brand. So that’s how impact sort of comes to life, as I deliver performance marketing materials down the line.

Cathy Donovan: It sounds like you do that for the Paskill logo, because Nick did design that and I feel like you do that almost daily, is have fun with that logo, making it do really cool things. So, I’m going to put that in there, that that’s probably your logo impact story, Paskill.

Frank Delaney: Thank you. That’s great.

Cathy Donovan: Alright, Jim, one tip for institutions considering a logo refresh?

Jim Paskill: Yeah, I’ll go back to an earlier answer about the process within an institution. So, my tip would be form that committee, create an established process and timeline, and stick to it.

Cathy Donovan: Okay.

Frank Delaney: Yeah, mine would be don’t look at your history or the previous logo as bad or not right. It was right for the time that it was developed, and you need to be cautious, but inquisitive to sort of take that old mark and do something new with it for the next generation. I think there’s a cautionary tale about trying to start from scratch. However, there is something positive in what the mark was previously that you can kind of carry through as you develop something new.

Cathy Donovan: Well, thank you both so much. This was a lot of fun. So from mascot to motto to mark, a logo is just one part of a college’s identity, but it’s often the first thing people see and the last thing they forget. So thanks to Frank, Jim, and Nick for helping us see logos, not just as graphics, but as stories. Appreciate you being here.

Frank Delaney: Thanks, Cathy.

Jim Paskill: Thank you for having us.

Cathy Donovan: Well, for folks listening, subscribe to Innovating Enrollment Success for more episodes in our Campus Spirit series. And if you’re ready for a logo audit or a brand evolution, connect with the team at Paskill. Until next time, keep showing your campus spirit.

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