Santa Clara new identity by Phoenix

[klasticono]

Besides the fact that this is a rip-off job, I don't think it looks that bad.

[jrodsep]

Can someone post the logos?

[eqtmgr]

Those are not very good logos.

In regards to the similarity to the Denver Broncos logo, there is a team in the Arena league that had the same problem recently and is using a logo that is no where remotely close to what the name of the team is.

[Cuss16]

it's just a meh for me.

[shiznit1083]

If you're going to rip off a logo, can you at least make it looks like a better version of the logo you ripped off? My god, this is so lazy. That's the thing that really bugs me. We have enough fledging designers (as far as the industry is concerned) that could come up with something 100x better than that for half the price. Even lazier on Santa Clara's part for not looking harder for someone with more skills.

[artvandelay]

At least they came up with a new font for this one. At least they used a font that they've never used before... oh wait, no they didn't. I did however find a website where they get a lot of their inspiration...

http://www.cookiecutter.com/TabStyle/index...ST-00366PYOTQ15

[Ez Street]

Man that's a nice logo...............for me to deficate on! Look, i can understand making a logo "Inspired" by the Broncs logo, but this is a straight rip-off. The damn horse head has the same shape and characteristics. They just modified the maine (SP) and the lines on the neck. That doesn't make it origional. Good lord, someone save this firm. Our designers could Half-Ass a logo better than that.

[Mings]

I'm sure someone has already designed a better logo than that on the boards or is close to putting it up lol

[rtrich11]

I checked out their athletics site and saw that their merchandise, as well as their uniforms were using dark red and white across the board. As I brought up before, their new mascot is only grey and black. Duh. I figured out how to add red to their logo. Blood. Lots of blood.

I also saw this headline on their athletics site: "Coaches Propose Plan to Reshape Basketball".

Who wrote this headline? Are they implying that the ball should be oblong or square?

No, it's about recruiting. From the school that chose that design.

[KCScout76]

Ripoff . . . cough cough . . . Ripoff

My 5 year old daughter was looking over my shoulder and said "looks like one of Spirit's friends (Spirit of the Cimmiron Movie)" Man I'm feeling Sterling's pain.

Let's all chip in and buy the man a beer.

it needs a hockey stick

- LOL

[Brian in Boston]

... some weird Southern Illinois logos (check out the one with a pic of your grandma's dog jumping over a pyramid), just kinda bizarre.

The Southern region of the State of Illinois has long been referred to as "Egypt" by its residents. The Saluki is a breed of dog which originated in ancient Egypt as the pet of the Royal Court. Hence, Southern Illinois University choosing the Saluki as their mascot... and Phoenix Design Works creating a stylized logo that featured the dog leaping over a depiction of a pyramid.

Class dismissed.

Brian in Boston

[paynomind]

Yikes!

Discrim.. you working for phoenix now?

And this guy...

Looks like a Fraggle Rocker with a hernia

[Discrim]

c'mon now, yall know i wouldn't make a basketball jersey where you couldn't tell home from away

i wonder what's more embarrasing: that they used to churn out quality stuff or that they're so much of a disgrace that they've resorted to ripping people off.

[Avenger]

It bugs me that there is such a waste of talent going on. If you look at their work, it's obvious (at least to me) that there are some talented illustrators on staff there. Unfortunately, everything that they do lately is just so goddamned formulaic and cookie-cutter.

It's wholy possible, I guess, that their clients are like "We really like the Denver Broncos logo, so um, rip it off," or "We really like what you did for UMass, so could you copy it and put a Knight in place of the minuteman?" But after a while, you'd think you'd see some sort of variation, and the fact that there's really not makes me think that they, as a firm, have lost the creative drive that they had in the early to mid-nineties. Hell, if they'd just redesign their excuse for a website and update their online portfolio, I might be willing to take them a little bit more seriously.

[Joe]

The fundamental issue that you are all overlooking is that the majority of the people that make creative decisions at institutions like SC are simply not qualified to do so. They simply don't understand what makes a strong and effective identity. As "experts" we are responsible for guiding the process in a way that protects the client from themselves. I think the firm in question has lost sight of that and is continually taking the path of least resistance. That path often involves the client making choices and suggestions that are not always in their best interest.

Collegiate branding is guided by the masses and if you can show a large body of work, people are impressed, regardless of how good or bad that work is. It's like the old saying, "nothing attracts a crowd like a crowd" - the same is true in this case, nothing attracts work like work. So if you can land a few high profile clients then chances are you will attract others, that seems to me to be what is happening here.

The difficult part of this whole thing is to get the client to understand what makes one identity better than another - if anyone can figure that one out then I'll gladly buy the coffee (or the beer) and you can explain it to me.

But what do I know about it, I draw mean animals for a living.

Joe

[Ez Street]

Joe rules!

[wurldwyde]

Geez, add a set of wings to it, and it completes the Phoenix design method...

[pcgd]

... some weird Southern Illinois logos (check out the one with a pic of your grandma's dog jumping over a pyramid), just kinda bizarre.

The Southern region of the State of Illinois has long been referred to as "Egypt" by its residents. The Saluki is a breed of dog which originated in ancient Egypt as the pet of the Royal Court. Hence, Southern Illinois University choosing the Saluki as their mascot... and Phoenix Design Works creating a stylized logo that featured the dog leaping over a depiction of a pyramid.

Class dismissed.

Brian in Boston

oh I knew what a saluki was spost to be (even if I can't spell it) but it still makes for a weird logo IMO. Just can't imagine having that on a t-shirt and wearing it public....

Paynomind, those were the exact weird stuff I was talking about! WTF???? It looks they intended the pants to be...PURPLE???? ahhhhhhhhh!!!!

[Kess]

You think those Saluki dogs look weird? Have a look at the logo SIU settled on - minus the "50th Anniversary" banner.

I don't think there's any way to turn that Fugly Dawg into a good logo.

[nitroseed]

The fundamental issue that you are all overlooking is that the majority of the people that make creative decisions at institutions like SC are simply not qualified to do so. They simply don't understand what makes a strong and effective identity. As "experts" we are responsible for guiding the process in a way that protects the client from themselves. I think the firm in question has lost sight of that and is continually taking the path of least resistance. That path often involves the client making choices and suggestions that are not always in their best interest.

Precisely why I think Phoenix has become a joke. I know you, Joe, and I know you like to think way outside the box and try something new with your work, and I respect that. I've even assimilated that stance into my own work. That's what aggrivates me to no end about Phoenix being able to sell work like this that looks like it could have been thrown together in under five minutes. Whether it's the client's decision or the firm's decision to greenlight work like this, both of them should know better but neither one did, apparently. That, or they intentionally ignored it.

Either way, it angers me. I think I've made that pretty clear already, though.