Stetson University Unveils New Athletic Logo

[GriffinM6]

Last night, the college I attend unveiled a new athletic logo. Here is the old and new one-side by-side. 

 

I must say I'm not a huge fan. The logo is way too pointy. Hats aren't supposed to be intimidating. This also immediately reminded me of Sacramento State's logo. 

 

Let's discuss.

[agentrygraphics]

I think it's making the most out of a difficult situation. Upgrade from the clipart hat and uber-bevel look that they had.

 

I can't help but seeing the hat brim as an ocean wave when i first see it. 

[SSmith48]

I feel like it is too visually confusing. At first glance it looks like a wave or some weird monogram that has an S. It takes too much effort make out the hat, probably because it is at a weird, awkward angle. The press release said that the redesign attempted to distance the school from a "Texas" aesthetic, but I don't think this is the way to do it. I also don't know what to think of the dual green yet.

 

Is it an upgrade? From a modernization standpoint, yes, but from an execution standpoint, no.

[crashcarson15]

The previous logo aged really poorly.

 

The top of the new "S" almost resembles the blade of an axe maybe a bit too much for me.

[whitedawg22]

I like it better when it's not on a black background. The negative space of the hat in the "S" works a lot better.

[henburg]

It's clever and pretty well-designed overall, but I almost feel like it's too edgy for Stetson. With a name like Hatters, I feel like you almost are obligated to play it a bit more fun than what they went with here. 

[panthers_2012]

I really like the update. As stated before, kind of hard to create a logo for "Hatters" but I think this works well for them!

[Rixaroo]

Whenever the college gets in the news, which is a rare occurrence, all I hear in my head is "Stetson makes it easy for you". Those 35 years and older will know what I'm talking about. 

[Rixaroo]

Stetson Commercial

A 1980s Christmas staple. 

[BBTV]

5 hours ago, henburg said:

It's clever and pretty well-designed overall, but I almost feel like it's too edgy for Stetson. With a name like Hatters, I feel like you almost are obligated to play it a bit more fun than what they went with here. 

 

Disagree with both points.

 

The brim doesn't look like it goes with the rest of the hat, and since it's the same color as the S, it looks like it's just some really-awkward design element that actually ruins the entire shape of the S, since it's creating jagged points at it's most critical part.  If you didn't know it was a hat, it's certainly not obvious that's what it is.  Hell, if you didn't know it was an S, there's a good chance many people would mistake that too.

 

I think it's trying to be too clever, and it's very poorly designed since by trying to cleverly work both an S and a hat in there, they managed to make both unrecognizeable.

 

 

[FinsUp1214]

Eh, I think it’s really trying too hard. It’s a bit too sharp all around and overly modern for modern’s sake.

 

Honestly, they were onto something two logos ago. Just clean it up and you’ve got it:

 

[pianoknight]

2 hours ago, FinsUp1214 said:

Eh, I think it’s really trying too hard. It’s a bit too sharp all around and overly modern for modern’s sake.

 

Honestly, they were onto something two logos ago. Just clean it up and you’ve got it:

 

 

Hey, you guys remember that episode where Michigan State guest starred on Gunsmoke? 

[andrewharrington]

2 hours ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

Disagree with both points.

 

The brim doesn't look like it goes with the rest of the hat, and since it's the same color as the S, it looks like it's just some really-awkward design element that actually ruins the entire shape of the S, since it's creating jagged points at it's most critical part.  If you didn't know it was a hat, it's certainly not obvious that's what it is.  Hell, if you didn't know it was an S, there's a good chance many people would mistake that too.

 

I think it's trying to be too clever, and it's very poorly designed since by trying to cleverly work both an S and a hat in there, they managed to make both unrecognizeable.

 

 

 

I see the dark area as the underbrim of the hat, which is in the shadow area and thus, darker than the top. The dark underbrim is also what completes the S. Without it, the entire thing would fall apart. I also think it’s very easily recognizable as both an S and a hat, so I don’t see much common ground on this one. 

[stumpygremlin]

45 minutes ago, andrewharrington said:

 

I see the dark area as the underbrim of the hat, which is in the shadow area and thus, darker than the top. The dark underbrim is also what completes the S. Without it, the entire thing would fall apart. I also think it’s very easily recognizable as both an S and a hat, so I don’t see much common ground on this one. 

I think it's recognizable as an "S" and a "hat" because you know that that's what's supposed to be there. Think of it like when you read what "Stairway To Heaven" is supposed to say when you listen to it backwards. You don't hear it at first, but when you read the lyrics and listen after having read it, you hear it more easily because you're expecting to hear that.

 

I think that they should've worked off of the logo from two logos ago and updated that. The previous logo was too "Phoenix Design Works" over-detailed, and this one is trying way too hard to be clever and misses the mark.

[VikingsAiden]

10 hours ago, agentrygraphics said:

I can't help but seeing the hat brim as an ocean wave when i first see it. 

Similar reaction. I immediately saw the Dolphins logo in the middle.

[ChicagoOakland]

Yeah, this one is trying too hard...I love logos that use negative space well, but that hat looks forced in there.

Much like Stetson's most famous alum Ray Finkle, this logo design missed wide right.

[Red Wolf]

I'm not a big fan of the new one. I'm even less a fan of the old one.

[Dilbert]

Its as if Stetson and the Hartford Whalers had a baby....... and it aint cute at all.

[1991]

I like it!

 

[Fresno St. Alum]

I saw a robin hood hat at first glance