UW fans hate their "weasel dog" logo?

[Hat Boy]

Fact of life: The new logo is superior. It's a shame that some disgruntled alums can't understand this.

It is not a question of one being better than the other. Remember, regualr people do not like logos because of their use of negative space, or because it is dynamic with implied forward motion, or any of the other critiques that people on this bb use to describe the logos they like.

A University of Washington alumni from these different eras identify with the "W" logo. During their time at UW, it was displayed all around the school, it was on the footabll helemts and on the sweatshirts and hats they wore arond the city. When people saw they "W," they knew it meant University of Washington. Just because some egghead at a generic design firm says that the weasel/dog logo is superior and will sell more merchandise does not mean that the new logo is representative of the university, its alumni and the community.

[WSU151]

Paul Lukas would love the vertical arch in that wordmark...though I don't know if he's commented on it in his column.

[NMLSooner]

How can you not like that logo? It's sharp and not to complicated, and it certainly looks better than a typewriter "W".

[hawk36]

Fact of life:  The new logo is superior.  It's a shame that some disgruntled alums can't understand this.

It is not a question of one being better than the other. Remember, regualr people do not like logos because of their use of negative space, or because it is dynamic with implied forward motion, or any of the other critiques that people on this bb use to describe the logos they like.

A University of Washington alumni from these different eras identify with the "W" logo. During their time at UW, it was displayed all around the school, it was on the footabll helemts and on the sweatshirts and hats they wore arond the city. When people saw they "W," they knew it meant University of Washington. Just because some egghead at a generic design firm says that the weasel/dog logo is superior and will sell more merchandise does not mean that the new logo is representative of the university, its alumni and the community.

Well said. As a UW alumni myself, I don't see the University as trendy (which is how I see the current Husky logo). I see it as stable, traditional,... the W.

[harperdc]

I think it's just pent-up rage that all of Nike's stuff looks garbage in purple and gold (seriously, I was at the Wendy's in Eugene when the UW track team came in after a meet....their athletic stuff just looks bad with purple and grey too) but then again I'm a Duck so *anything* UW looks bad.

...

okay, the new dog logo isn't that bad from a sheerly design standpoint (and why couldn't CBS have used it? It's not that hard to tell UConn and UW's huskies apart, to begin with they're COMPLETELY DIFFERENT COLORS)...but it *is* funny to see UW people all wound up. huck the fuskies.

[CubsFanBudMan]

Looks pretty close to me?.....

Hmmm... they do look pretty close, as does this Northern Illinois logo.

[Michigan Dave]

I believe the reasons for the dislike of the current Husky logo are twofold:

1. UW is very much about tradition and history whether the rest of the country sees it as so or not. I would liken it to Nike creating a stylized Wolverine for Michigan. It probably wouldn't be greeted with open arms.

2. UWs most bitter rival is Oregon. With Oregon being so tied to Nike, I don't think anything Nike would create would sit completely well with the hard core UW faithful.

IMO the new Husky is well done, but too trendy, 90s looking (Broncos, Texans, Boise State, Falcons, Patriots,... the list goes on and on). Maybe if they keep it for 25 more years, it will bypass trendy and become tradition. But, for the next 10-20 years, it will go from being cool, to normal, to tealesque, to old.

I disagree. I would dig a Nike Wolverine. We don't have a Wolverine that is used much at all. Where I would get annoyed would be if they were to use it to replace the "M" or to mess with the helmet (though they really couldn't do that).

[Lumbergh]

I just think it's crap that the people who were surveyed hated the husky with such a passion. The "w" is a plain type face letter that looks sooo drab compared to the stylistic dog. I give kudos to nike for the design, it looks really effective, yet occupies very little space and utilizes a strong color scheme. The "W" in no way, shape, or form is better. I like the w as the school's primary mark. But the dog should be the athletic mark, once you blend the two a whole lot of havek boils over. Look at the university of denver, where i live. The school has two sets of logos, the educational one, and the athletic one. The educational is a "DU" script of crimson letters in a traditional type. The athletic one is a swooping black hawk. It makes an easy line visible for the athletics and schooling part. Washington has the educational, "W" looking mark as the athletic, which i believe is a mistake. And finally, the author calling wsu's "cougar" logo cool is a dramatic overstatement, it does look like a snail with prickly hedgehog spikes sticking up, way overrated.

[ninersdd]

In the UW logo section on this website, I don't see the purple W, but a yellow one instead(thats symmetrical). Also, the Chris hasn't updated Oregon,Oklahoma, and Tennesee besides Washington

[nwtrailtrekker]

I still wish they had the stylized "Washington" centered over Mt. Rainier than the plain, capitalized wordmark off center they have now.

You mean other people noticed this, too? Here I thought I was the only one. I love this board!

i third that motion. i hate the new washington licence plates. the lettering is sooo boring.

[paynomind]

Yup, they have them in Virginia, not that I've ever seen them in real life though (would've posted a PA plate but they don't have pics on their DMV website). Unfortunately now that I've moved from the Commonwealth, I have no shot in Georgia getting a 'nova plate, as there are very few southern alums. Heck, UNC doesn't even have plates here, and they've been petitioning for years now..

Georgia plates are only available in schools that are IN Georgia.

Tech, U(sic)GA, GState, GSouthern, etc.

Georgia is so simple, they wont even make distinctive plates for their colleges, they are all the same blank as the normal plate, with a different logo to the left.

I remember when they used to have colorfull, distinctive plates, but then with a redesign, the state patrol convinced the DOT that they were too simple-minded and stupid to remember a couple different Georgia plates, and made them keep them all on the same template. Idiots.

[dpnation]

Yup, they have them in Virginia, not that I've ever seen them in real life though (would've posted a PA plate but they don't have pics on their DMV website). Unfortunately now that I've moved from the Commonwealth, I have no shot in Georgia getting a 'nova plate, as there are very few southern alums. Heck, UNC doesn't even have plates here, and they've been petitioning for years now..

Georgia plates are only available in schools that are IN Georgia.

Tech, U(sic)GA, GState, GSouthern, etc.

Georgia is so simple, they wont even make distinctive plates for their colleges, they are all the same blank as the normal plate, with a different logo to the left.

I remember when they used to have colorfull, distinctive plates, but then with a redesign, the state patrol convinced the DOT that they were too simple-minded and stupid to remember a couple different Georgia plates, and made them keep them all on the same template. Idiots.

There have been attempts to change it so it's not just GA schools. From the Atlanta Carolina Club website:

The Atlanta Carolina Club has for some time been seeking to have the State of Georgia approve the issuance of an affinity license plate for UNC, similar to the ones that are currently issued in Georgia for UGA and Georgia Tech, and which UNC has been able to obtain in Maryland and Virginia. (Click here for photo.)

A local state representative has now offered to introduce a bill at the 2005 session of the Georgia legislature to accomplish this goal, and we are very confident of its passage. However, one of the requirements to getting the bill acted upon is to demonstrate that there is a potential market of at least 500 purchasers for the tags.  We are pleased to report that we have received more than 1,000 positive responses in this regard, so we are not in need of any additional responses at this time.  However, please check this site from time-to-time and we will keep you posted on the status of this endeavor.

Now I'm not sure of the reality of this actually happening but it sounds like there have been some major attempts to get it done.

As for Georgia being non-creative and using the same template for each school, that's pretty much the way the whole east coast works from what I've seen - PA, MD, VA, NC, GA all have their standard plates with the [insert school logo here] to the left on their standard plate. The only ones with their own designs that I've seen is South Carolina. DC doesn't offer any period, except for those sweet "Taxation Without Representation" ones. I actually prefer the standard template to the all out different plates, but I figure anything is better than these monstrosities!

[VitaminD]

I just think it's crap that the people who were surveyed hated the husky with such a passion. The "w" is a plain type face letter that looks sooo drab compared to the stylistic dog.

And finally, the author calling wsu's "cougar" logo cool is a dramatic overstatement, it does look like a snail with prickly hedgehog spikes sticking up, way overrated.

I really have no opinion on the merits of the block W or the weasel/dog. I'm more surprised that they'd prefer to have a simple block letter used as an identifying mark on a license plate that will only have letters and numbers on it. I could see some nitwit policeman running a UW alum plate and including the "W" as part of the plate number. New Jersey stopped issuing standard plates with the letters "I" or "O" in them to make it easier for cops to run plates without confusing them with "1"s and "0"s. And the only NJ plates with "Q"s on them are antique/classic cars, all in the name of easy reading.

Still waiting for a couple more UNC alums to sign the petition in Jersey to get my UNC alum plates, but it could happen soon from what I heard - and on the way to work today I saw a NJ tag for Michigan alums, so anything's possible.

As far as the WSU Cougar is concerned, you do see the "W", "S" and "U" contained in the design, right m&l? Unlike the Kansas State Wildcat, the WSU Cougar actually has a hidden design, which does make it stand out. And it's pretty creative, I'll give them that...

[njpoz]

I'm a UW alum, and I have to say, I much prefer W over the "weasel" dog. The Nike dog may be a fine logo, but it wasn't a necessary change. People at UW love the purple W, and that's what they want on their gear. The Nike dog will also always be associated with hideous Nike football uniforms that were introduced in 2001, with the thin god bands around the shoulders and rollerball numbers. (Pantone, the color blocks you linked to earlier look great. Too bad that the actual football jerseys look nothing like that shade of purple in person. They look almost lavender.)

The football team's on-field performance has been pretty depressing since the introduction of the Nike dog, too. I know one has very little to do with the other, but the association exists in the fans' minds.

[Gothamite]

The football team's on-field performance has been pretty depressing since the introduction of the Nike dog, too. I know one has very little to do with the other, but the association exists in the fans' minds.

And in the traditionally superstition-rich world of sports, that's reason enough not to like a logo.

Myself, I hate Wisconsin's "motion W." But I recognize that it symbolizes a winning program for most fans, and most fans love it. That's good enough for me (although I do wish they'd left Bucky alone).

[paynomind]

Yup, they have them in Virginia, not that I've ever seen them in real life though (would've posted a PA plate but they don't have pics on their DMV website). Unfortunately now that I've moved from the Commonwealth, I have no shot in Georgia getting a 'nova plate, as there are very few southern alums. Heck, UNC doesn't even have plates here, and they've been petitioning for years now..

Georgia plates are only available in schools that are IN Georgia.

Tech, U(sic)GA, GState, GSouthern, etc.

Georgia is so simple, they wont even make distinctive plates for their colleges, they are all the same blank as the normal plate, with a different logo to the left.

I remember when they used to have colorfull, distinctive plates, but then with a redesign, the state patrol convinced the DOT that they were too simple-minded and stupid to remember a couple different Georgia plates, and made them keep them all on the same template. Idiots.

There have been attempts to change it so it's not just GA schools. From the Atlanta Carolina Club website:

The Atlanta Carolina Club has for some time been seeking to have the State of Georgia approve the issuance of an affinity license plate for UNC, similar to the ones that are currently issued in Georgia for UGA and Georgia Tech, and which UNC has been able to obtain in Maryland and Virginia. (Click here for photo.)

A local state representative has now offered to introduce a bill at the 2005 session of the Georgia legislature to accomplish this goal, and we are very confident of its passage. However, one of the requirements to getting the bill acted upon is to demonstrate that there is a potential market of at least 500 purchasers for the tags.  We are pleased to report that we have received more than 1,000 positive responses in this regard, so we are not in need of any additional responses at this time.  However, please check this site from time-to-time and we will keep you posted on the status of this endeavor.

Now I'm not sure of the reality of this actually happening but it sounds like there have been some major attempts to get it done.

As for Georgia being non-creative and using the same template for each school, that's pretty much the way the whole east coast works from what I've seen - PA, MD, VA, NC, GA all have their standard plates with the [insert school logo here] to the left on their standard plate. The only ones with their own designs that I've seen is South Carolina. DC doesn't offer any period, except for those sweet "Taxation Without Representation" ones. I actually prefer the standard template to the all out different plates, but I figure anything is better than these monstrosities!

Indeed very interesting to hear that they are attempting to get other state's schools on the plates. I'm not in favor of it, myself, but it is certainly interesting to know.

Another state that blows up on the custom plates is Florida. 103 specialty plates available. The Tampa Bay Storm plate sold 32 last year. Glad they spent the money to make that one.

[Gothamite]

New York is a little crazy with the custom plates, too.

• 43 NASCAR plates,
  
• all 30 NBA teams,
  
• 3 MLB clubs (Yanks, Amazin's and Brooklyn Dodgers)
  
• the 3 New York NHL teams,
  
• the 3 New York NFL teams,
  
• 5 minor league baseball and hockey teams,
  
• 3 miscellaneous (American Bowling Congress, New York Racing Association and Saratoga/Cortez)
  

And that's just the sports teams. Over 50 "Causes and Organizations", 25+ "Counties and Regions", 31 colleges (including some non-NY like Notre Dame), 35 "Military and Veterans", 7 "Emergency Services" and 22 "Professions".

Whew! 260-some-odd choices.

http://www.nydmv.state.ny.us/cplates.htm