Many thanks to all who contributed to our recent online forum on updating Oberlin's logo. It is clear from the online as well as the offline reactions that the community generally likes the proposed changes, with the exception of the typography shown in the first draft. We appreciated the suggestion to hire a calligrapher, but that is not currently within our budget. We will revisit that idea in the future.
As noted in the original thread, we are not looking to completely redesign the logo at this time - only to update the original. As such, it seems best to retain the original "Oberlin" typography until we are in a position to more actively explore alternatives.
During the summer, we will explore treatments for individual departments and offices and work on a much-needed style guide. Please stay tuned.
Feedback:
I like!
Dear Ben Jones and everyone else involved in this process,
This is fantastic. The logos look great, but it's more than that. I can't tell you how refreshing it is to see such openness and humility coming from the Borg cube of Oberlin bureaucracy*. You are demonstrating exactly how Oberlin should work. I love you guys!!
*God, I've really regressed into Trekkieism. I need to get ahold of myself.
The more I look at it, the more I like it. I approve.
Positive feelings, definitely. I love the ampersand and appreciate the versatility of having two versions. Will it be just black, or will there be other colors?
I like the trend, but really miss the 'R'- can it be done in FELIX TITLING to keep the long leg on the 'R'? That would give it very much the same art deco look of the new design, but keep the distinctly different looking letter in the middle.
Felix Titling isn't quite right; the middle strokes are centered. The closer one gets to the "old" font, the more off it looks ;-)
But in sans-serif it might work.
It looks great! I like that you kept what made the old logo endearing, and I'm a big fan of that ampersand, too.
And thanks again for being so open with this process. That's what makes me the happiest--regardless of what the logo ends up looking like, exactly.
I LOVE them both!!! Seriously, everything about them is perfect IMO =D
Much better!
The only thing now that I'm not sure about is the underline/spacer between Oberlin and the bottom info.
I can't put my finger on it, but the style seems wrong. My eye is drawn there, then I think, "hmmm."
It might be fine, but if it were me - I'd experiment with variations on the underline.
Everyone (including me) seems to like the ampersand, perhaps you could use that to draw inspiration for the underline too?
Anyway, if it ends up just like it is above, I'd still like it.
I second Jesse Baer. Frankly, I didn't believe that you actually were going to make some real changes based on those feedback, but now I'm ecstatic to witness the openness of Oberlin's administration. Keep up the good work. :)
I like it, but will it mean extra expenses for the college in order to change the logo on official documents? With the economy as bad as it is, I think that it would be in our best interest to avoid unnecessary spending. Otherwise, the new logo looks good.
Hi Aaron,
No, it will be phased in gradually as supplies run out and are reordered on their normal schedules.
-B
Love it! Much better than the first draft.
I think this is a great improvement over the first round. The existing type treatment is very strong, and this works nicely with it. I appreciate that the text under the swash is better kerned in this version, too. It could still be tweaked a bit (too much room between OS, OF, OR, US and VA), but those are nits.
I really appreciate that you integrated the criticism from the community (including myself). I don't think you need (or want) a calligrapher, but if you decide to do more work on the logo in the future or want a more consistent style, you should hire a graphic designer.
David
All we wanted was for someone to listen to us for once, Ben. Your office is the new Oberlin at its best!
Speaking as a newly minted Oberlin alum, I love it. Add mine to the list of voices thankful for the openness of this process!
Above Y'all type:
"Isn't The 'Learning & Labor' Seal The Logo?
The seal was created in 1852 (and updated in 1911) to be used in matters of "official business," mostly by the President's office and the Board of Trustees. It was never intended for general use."
Take a look at some of the artifacts in the Oberlin Archives - They are reproduced in the Digital Collections. There are numerous "general use" objects with the seal and the motto: Pins, Lapel Pins, Class rings, Band patches, Spoons, etc.
I possess an Oberlin car decal which depicted the seal and motto. It is much faded by the sun these days.
regards, Andrew Heath OC93
Looks great. I personally like the underline. It's like a really big, really thin flying saucer!
I suspect that the problem that you were having with the font choice in the first edition of the new logo is that designers generally default to a small set of tried and true fonts, and since designers usually agree on which fonts these are, this explains why the font seemed generic. If you decide to stay with a logo that is text-forward, make sure to demand that your design firm dig into their font libraries and pull out something more obscure. Even if your goal isn't to sustain the quirky aspect of the current logo, avoiding a common typeface will help the logo stand out.
Style-wise, I like the blocky-solid feeling the old logo had, which the trajan logo lost entirely. It lends an element of foundation and structure which I think reflects the history of Oberlin.
I think the only problem with the current logo is the divider bar-- it's sluby approach cuts against the square and solid feeling of both the Oberlin and the all-caps below. Perhaps a flat line across with a diamond or somewhat in the middle might jibe better
Finally, with both the special and general logos, it's odd that one juxtaposes "college of arts and sciences" and "conservatory of music" without any conjunction, where the general use logo joins them with "college & conservatory" Pick one. I think that from the previous forum, people liked the slightly awkward grammar which forced the conservatory to be considered separate from the college, whereas with the general use suggestion, the conservatory seems more like something tacked on at the end. Using a more ambiguous separator between college and conservatory might align these two constructions. I would suggest a tilde which can visually reference the decorative bar of the ampersand while more clearly matching the form of the special use logo.
I quite like this for the most part. I think this is a much more distinctive font than the first draft; I've never seen this font anywhere else, so when I see it in context, it sort of subconsciously brands the idea of Oberlin in one's mind.
Something interesting I noticed is how the "O" and "N" seem thinner than the middle "BERLI," which all seem to have a very thick lettering. I wonder if this was the font default or if it were tweaked? The way that the underlining bar increases in thickness towards the middle adds to the illusion of increasing thickness at the center. It's interesting because for some reason, I feel like the "O" and "N" could stand to be slightly bolder letters.
Another thing to consider in the future: "O" in general is an extremely powerful letter. We are lucky to go to a school that starts with "O," as circles in general are very symbolic shapes, reminiscent of cyclicals, wholeness, perfection, etc. Someday Oberlin may want to consider going with a font that renders its letter Os as perfect circles. This certainly worked for Barack Obama and his use of typography in posters, campaign materials, etc.
It's pretty great.
I am impressed by how carefully this is being looked into by students and the college's looking to us for approval. Much appreciated after the 'fearless" fiasco.
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