Graphic Designer & Illustrator
Graduate School Logo Design
Adobe Illustrator, 2020
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In 2020, I was hired by the School of Graduate and Professional Studies (SGPS) at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) to design a new logo. At the time, there was no brand identity for the graduate program that separated it from SCSU.
The Dean of the graduate program wanted to differentiate the two schools to reach a wider audience. Attendance at the graduate school mainly was from students who had graduated from the undergraduate program at SCSU. To help reach a wider audience, the graduate school needed a brand to advertise on social media and other online sources to students who graduated from other undergraduate programs.
The Challenge
The graduate program was currently using the branding of its parent school, SCSU, located on the same campus. Several logos are used across the university (two versions of the primary logo are pictured right). The primary logo features a column that symbolizes Southern as an institution of higher education, with the SCSU initials configured to visually complete the column's shaft.
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I researched other university graduate programs in the New England area to compare the designs of the undergraduate program and the graduate program. Most universities create a cohesive brand identity between their undergraduate and graduate programs by keeping the logos for the two schools similar in form, color, and font. Some graduate programs even go as far as creating a logo for each degree offered at the graduate school.
The challenge of designing a brand identity for SGPS would be creating a design similar enough that a student could easily identify the partnership between SCSU and SGPS while also showing students SGPS was a separate program intended to build on their undergraduate degree.
The Solution
I wanted my logo to illustrate that SGPS intended to help build a brighter future on the foundation students have already built with an undergraduate degree.
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I designed a logo that, like the SCSU logo, uses an architectural element as the primary form and uses the university initials to complete the form. I chose a pediment for the SGPS logo because columns hold them up, and the column is the logo for SCSU. When paired with the SCSU column, the two make a complete architectural form. Inside the pediment, I put the image of a sunburst, another common theme in classical architecture, symbolizing a brighter future.
I ended up making two versions of the SGPS pediment logo. The preliminary version of the logo uses the full name of both the graduate school and the university in more formal documents (business cards and letterhead). Using the current letterhead, envelope, and business card designs, I put together multiple mock-ups to showcase the design for the dean. The secondary version uses the initials SGPS inside the pediment and the full graduate school name separated by the SCSU column. The secondary version is more informal and can be used for social media icons.
Adobe Illustrator
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Mock up of possible business card design for SGPS.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I feel the new logo design achieved the goal of creating a new brand identity for the graduate program while maintaining a similar identity to SCSU. The dean of the graduate program was happy with the design, and the logos I designed moved forward for approval with the board for use. Although SGPS did not use the designs I created, it was a great learning experience to spearhead a brand redesign with such a big client from start to finish. The following summer, the graduate program contacted me to design a seal for SGPS to use on official forms and documents.
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