[undresedmonster]

I work in-house as a designer for a public high school district with 7 schools in our district. Each school has their own mascot and colors. Then there is the district itself, which has this old brown, black, and gold logo. This logo is very difficult to work with because it looks terrible with most other color palettes. It is also very difficult to scale down, both in print and on the web. You can see the logo on our website: www.tempehighschools.org.

My question is, does this justify the need for a new logo? We conducted a survey among employees about the logo, and at least half are proud of the logo and don't think it needs to be updated or redesigned. Then there are a bunch of us that think the logo is ugly and badly designed.

A second question: Does the district's logo and brand even matter? The goal of a school district is to get students to go to their schools. A secondary goal is to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers and employees. But students and their parents don't choose a school based on the district it is in. Therefore the audience of the district brand is mainly current and prospective employees. (I'm over-simplifying, but this is how my thought process is working...)

How important is it that a logo show a literal representation of what a company does, verses an abstract symbol or just a wordmark? In the case of a school district, how important is it that the logo incorporates a literal representation of education, such as a book, graduation cap, or even the dreaded and over-used apple?

[rightclick]

Schools are more like businesses these days. I think they rely on a stong sense of identity, a brand almost. It's something that the students have to feel they belong to. It give's them an identity and a sense of pride. It think it will be integral to how the school faces the world. It's purpose should be a symbol of unity that gathers and defines, as well as promotes.

School is always about development and progression and that is something that I feel should be fundimental in an identity for a school or college. At present the logo looks like some poor mans life coaching leaflet graphic. The colours (colors) are dated and it lacks a look of class (no pun).

IMO.

[undresedmonster]

The current logo has been in place for 30 some years, I've been told.

The one challenge is that the schools themselves already have their own "brands" (ie their mascots). Those school brands, of course, are much more important than the district brand when we try to recruit students. Parents and students don't choose their school based on the district its in; they choose a school based on the image of the school itself.

The closest analogy is Proctor & Gamble. Their sub-brands are Tide, Bold, Cheer, etc. But what of the Proctor & Gamble brand itself? It is of much less importance.

So, going back to our district logo... Back in September I designed a new logo that we ended up using for a number of materials. You can see the new logo here: http://dev.tuhsd.k12.az.us

However, I don't feel that this logo accurately reflects our image. The symbol and colors are too childish for a high school district. Also, the symbol and type aren't linked together well enough. Already there have been people using this logo that separate the T symbol and try to use it on its own. I want to hurt people when they do that!

[nextlimits]

Very simple - if u want a new design a new fresh look a new start an impulse for your busines u choose to have a rebranding process

[NevF]

If its the design ur talkin about now...i think; nice!