Northeastern university's new stuff

[lucky]

New logos and such for the mighty Huskies.  Pretty damn awful IMHO.

At the bottom of this page: http://www.gonu.com

[Avenger]

It's not bad.... it's not stellar, but it's definitely not as bad as some of the other new identities that have been put out lately.

[nitroseed]

That wordmark reminds me of some sort of Russian propaganda poster. And that dog... huskie... whatever it is. So tame! Here's what I think is funny:

"For the first time, the primary Northeastern Athletics logo ... includes a reference to Boston as the next-generation Husky is leaping over a recognizable city skyline that includes the newly constructed Zakim Bridge"

Do you see a bridge in there? I don't. And could you tell that was Boston without being told so? I couldn't.

[Brian in Boston]

Then again Nitro, how familiar are you with the skyline of Boston? The first time I saw these logos, I hadn't even heard about Northeastern contemplating a branding change, let alone getting one. As a native New Englander, when I glanced at the artwork, the first things that jumped out at me were the silhouettes of the John Hancock and Prudential towers.

As for the Zakim Bridge, it is the structure at the far left of the skyline, positioned just below the Husky's... well, uh... "jewels". It is the two triangular towers with the lines (cable stays) stretched between them. I can't fault you for not recognizing it: it's a rather unusual-looking bridge in real life and was only recently completed.

Brian in Boston

[nitroseed]

Well, I'll admit my familiarity with the Boston profile is lacking somewhat, but it brings up a point about design that a lot of people miss. How effective is a logo that includes something specific about a city (like a bridge or two seemingly random buildings) when you're trying to market it to people outside of Boston? I imagine if you're only targeting Boston citizens, then it's great. But for a national audience, it seems to lose something, especially with those who aren't familiar with Boston or it's bridge. Maybe it's just me!

[STL FANATIC]

Not bad, could have been a lot worse. And I agree with Nitro about city specific elements that noone else can recognize.

[yh]

Two words:

Nice Doggy

[Saintsfan]

Hmmm, that Husky does look a bit tame, not what you expect from a sports logo!!!!

[Sterling84]

yuck

[webdav]

It's a retarded dog. Not striking me as a good design.

[DEAD!]

Is the font being used by any other university or a pro sports team? ??? Not a bad husky, at least it's doing something. I think the logo would be okay WITHOUT the skyline. It's supposed to be Boston, but it just looks generic. Of course the Mets logo has the NY skyline, but I think ordinary people can figure out it's NY right?

[-kj]

It's... eh, ok.   The only one of those I actually really like is the N that has the dog going "through" it--or, rather, under the diagonal.

[Brian in Boston]

I've always felt that logos incorporating local landmarks/structures could be broken down into two classes.

The first class features landmarks/structures that are not only recognizable to locals, but a wider audience as well. We're talking about the likes of the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, the Alamo, the Space Needle, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, etc. These logos not only appeal to a sense of pride on the part of the locals, but, due to the inclusion of the tremendously recognizable landmark/structure, they also instantly communicate the location of the team/business to a wider audience. In these logos, the landmark/structure is so recognizable, and to such a large audience, that it can - and probably should - play a MAJOR role in the design.

In the second class of these logos, the landmark/structure is really only recognizable to the local audience. It's inclusion in the overall design is a tip of the hat to local fans, students of the school, etc. In the case of these logos, as long as the local landmark/structure is limited to a SUPPORTING role in the logos' composition, the final design should still be successful. The local landmark/structure is really just a "bonus" for local fans, without taking away from the overall appeal to a general audience.

It would seem to me that the second scenario is what Northeastern University and Neohatch Design were trying to achieve with NU's new branding package. The Husky mascot is obviously the focal point of the designs in which it is featured, with the Boston skyline playing a limited role meant to appeal to locals.

Brian in Boston

[Discrim]

i actually really like this set.  it don't have to be fierce (see washington's husky...nothing fierce about their old one or their new one)  and this is a good job of attempting to differentiate the husky logos from northern illnois' set.  same general colors, same nickname, what you gonna do...i'll give Northeastern that this was going to look something like NIU's husky.