160-year-old university updates its logo for a digital age
Penn State’s new academic logo builds stronger brand architecture
Recently, my alma mater, Penn State University, updated their academic logo in an attempt to make the brand more modern and web-friendly. The new logo is used to represent the University, its branches, and will expand into the new Penn State Health program, a brand which represents the university’s presence in health and medicine through Central Pennsylvania and beyond.
The original logo was created in the1980s, well before web presence was taken into consideration. It’s referred to as the “university” or “academic” mark, not to be confused with the more well-known athletic logo.
When the Penn State Alumni Association announced the change, I had mixed feelings. My initial thought was that it accomplished its goal of modernizing the Penn State brand and giving the University a more contemporary look for digital, mobile and social media. After my first impression faded, I thought it fell short of the tradition and history that makes me love PSU so much—but maybe that’s the point.
For a second opinion, I turned to my co-worker, and one of my personal favorite logo designers, Dave Mercier, Art Director here at Smith & Jones. It turns out he, too, had mixed feelings on the new mark.
His initial thought, like mine, was positive “Penn State’s brand architecture was disconnected before and the new mark used across the various schools and campuses and into Penn State Health certainly offers more clarity than what they had.”
However, he thinks the new logo misses the mark on some things. First, he feels as though much of the history is lost because of the changing blue colors and typography. Second, he believes it makes Penn State feel less prestigious, not something that’s to be expected from a 160-year-old institution.
The reality is that brands today need to do more than simply have a digital presence, they need to be a digital presence by making their identities consistent across all consumer touch points. I believe Penn State’s new logo successfully does just that. It translates well from print to digital and back again, which aids in streamlining their brand architecture and creating a cohesive message across all of their different colleges and branches. Overall, I think the change will create a stronger identity for the academic services they offer.
What does this mean for health systems?
If you are the CEO or marketing officer of a major health system, you might find yourself in the same situation as Penn State: a large hospital, with many service lines and offices operating under one umbrella. How does your brand translate across all of your locations and offices? Does it look and feel like the same brand both online and offline?
Is it time to take your health system’s brand into the digital era?