By Maddi McGarrh |The rebranding of the university has brought a fresh and new look to the face of Howard Payne.
After having the same Buzzsaw graphic since 1996, university officials, including Assistant Vice President for Communications, Kyle Mize, decided it was time to change.
“Our brand is the public’s perception of who we are as a university. We can influence our brand through a wide range of factors, such as news and social media, the strength of our academic programs, the quality of the visitor experience and other means, including – last but not least – our visual identity.
“Our visual identity is a collection of visual elements selected to represent our university, including designs such as logos, the mascot, official colors, signage around campus and more,” said Mize
The designs were created by Jarvis Green, graphic designer and chief photographer, and Kyle Mize, assistant vice president for communications, in HPU’s Office of University Marketing and Communications. Mize said the timing of the project and the overall look of the designs reflect the energy and excitement prevalent on campus.
“HPU’s new graphics were designed to honor our university’s traditions while representing the bright spirit and personality of our institution today,” he said. “This approach is very much in harmony with the sense of energy and optimism that exists at HPU.”
One of the new university logos incorporates the Wilson gates, which has a special meaning for current HPU students and alumni. The gates represent an HPU tradition of Chime In and Chime Out.
Chime In is a ceremony that freshmen have during their first weeks on campus. It signifies their welcome onto the campus. The Chime Out ceremony is held right before graduation, allowing students to celebrate their time spent on campus. Both ceremonies are treasured memories by alumni.
The integration of the Wilson Gates hopes to commemorate those special memories into a cohesive design.
“Hopefully students will enjoy the designs and feel the new look better represents their experiences as current HPU Yellow Jackets,” said Mize.
In addition to change to the university graphics, the athletic department also experienced changes. The athletics department now has an advanced athletic graphic, and changed from an Adidas to Nike contract for athletics clothing and uniforms.
With the athletic department making the switch after ten years with Adidas, Athletic Director Hunter Sims said, “We want to promote the best student experience possible for our athletes.”
After looking at other third party vendors, the athletic admin decided it was the right decision to go with Nike.
“They value our organization and offered us an opportunity that we could not pass up,” said Sims.
The new makeover for the mascot, Buzzsaw, gives him an inventive look that current athletes and alumni can be proud of.
“As a university, we want imaging that is cutting edge but also represents us nicely to the athletic recruits,” said Sims.
Volleyball player Amaya Marshall is very excited about the switch to Nike because “it gives many athletes a look good, feel-good type of mentality.”
The rebranding of the HPU logo is just one of the many signs of the commitment Howard Payne University has made to improve the student experience.