University of Milwaukee (UW-Milwaukee) Rebranding Concept

[illwauk]

This package was part of a failed bid to rename the school in the Spring of 2006. The back story is that there was a push to lose the hyphen in our name and become either Wisconsin State University or the University of Milwaukee. Obviously, as one of the few UWM students whose actually from Milwaukee, I favored the latter. I only had an hour to come up with a wordmark that could be used on t-shirts and flyers (that ended up not being made due to politics from the WSU-favoring townies from upstate) which is the reason for the cliche font as well as the similarities to the UMass mark.

C&C are definetly appreciated, although I'm not sure that I'll made any adjustments (seeing as how the point is moot).

[DDR]

I don't really have much to say about the concept. It looks okay, but you admitted it had to be rushed, so perhaps with some more time you can make it work. But, for the naming, as an impartial outsider I'd vote for University of Milwaukee. To me, it comes down to this: Do you want to brand your school as a secondary state school (secondary to Madison), or the University of a semi-major city. To me, it's the latter. Of course, there's some that might argue that Marquette (aside from the whole "private" thing) is, for all intents and purposes, the U. of Milwaukee, but them.

[-kj]

So, why not revisit this? It's an interesting idea, even if it shows that you hate Milwaukee being in Wisconsin.

[ShinyHubCaps]

I wouldn't call Milwaukee a semi-major city... it seems that every city with an MLB team is a major city, since MLB cities are not unique (i.e. San Antonio is unique to the NBA, Ottowa is unique to the NHL, Green Bay is unique to the NFL, etc.).

So for a major city like Milwaukee, it deserves its own university name. However, I don't really understand the point of renaming, since it is part of the UW system. It seems to be consistent, unless they named it like UW-Parkside, which is not named after the city.

Aaaaanyway, I vote for the name University of Milwaukee, and I like the short logo. However, I'd like to see it written out, at least UMilwaukee. It seems pretty consistent with font and colors to what they have now.

[Mings]

From what I heard from a friend of mine down here that is from Milwaukee, UW-Milwaukee is for people who don't get in to UW-Madison and architecture majors.

But yeah, why not revisit it and see what you can come up with.

[illwauk]

I don't really have much to say about the concept. It looks okay, but you admitted it had to be rushed, so perhaps with some more time you can make it work. But, for the naming, as an impartial outsider I'd vote for University of Milwaukee. To me, it comes down to this: Do you want to brand your school as a secondary state school (secondary to Madison), or the University of a semi-major city. To me, it's the latter. Of course, there's some that might argue that Marquette (aside from the whole "private" thing) is, for all intents and purposes, the U. of Milwaukee, but them.

That's basically the argument I was making for why U. of Milwaukee would be better than Wisconsin State. Also, if the point of changing the school's name is to get rid of a stigma (the hyphen), then why would you want to add another stigma ("State")?

As far as Marquette... they're definitely the more "prestigious" of the two. They're usually in the top 100 of whatever rankings while we usually only get props for our architecture department. But most people in Milwaukee tend to think of MU as Chicago's northern-most suburb where UWM is seen more as Wisconsin's (but not necessarily Milwaukee's) school.

I wouldn't call Milwaukee a semi-major city... it seems that every city with an MLB team is a major city, since MLB cities are not unique (i.e. San Antonio is unique to the NBA, Ottowa is unique to the NHL, Green Bay is unique to the NFL, etc.).

However, I don't really understand the point of renaming, since it is part of the UW system. It seems to be consistent, unless they named it like UW-Parkside, which is not named after the city.

This is why:

From what I heard from a friend of mine down here that is from Milwaukee, UW-Milwaukee is for people who don't get in to UW-Madison and architecture majors.

Because the "University of Wisconsin" name is so closely tied in with Madison, the 12 other schools in the UW system are seen as colonies of Madison rejects which simply isn't true (for most of them anyway). I know plenty of people who chose UWM over Madison (myself included).

Oh, and I wouldn't worry about the "semi-major city" comment. Chicagoans have to say those kinds things every now and then so they can continue to believe that they're a world class city

[PackerBadger]

Found out today that the third largest UW school, after Madison and Milwaukee, is UW-Oshkosh. That would seem to suggest that perhaps Oshkosh should be called "Wisconsin State." UWM should definitely be the University of Milwaukee, and as long as you're doing that, you might as well call UWGB the University of Green Bay.

[ShinyHubCaps]

I think Green Bay could be GBU, unless there already is one (which I cannot think of). It's true that at least D-1 UW-schools seem unimportant compared to the Badgers, so that should be the case, to change Milwaukee, Oshkosh, and Green Bay (although Oshkosh is D-3, I think). On a side note, I saw the UWM Panthers basketball game on TV, and the jerseys look nice. They say just "Milwaukee" in a really nice wordmark, so that would be a good standard to follow.

[illwauk]

I think Green Bay could be GBU, unless there already is one (which I cannot think of). It's true that at least D-1 UW-schools seem unimportant compared to the Badgers, so that should be the case, to change Milwaukee, Oshkosh, and Green Bay (although Oshkosh is D-3, I think). On a side note, I saw the UWM Panthers basketball game on TV, and the jerseys look nice. They say just "Milwaukee" in a really nice wordmark, so that would be a good standard to follow.

UWM's jerseys have said "Milwaukee" ever since their jump to D1 in 1991 (and their last couple years in D2, IIRC). Personal biases aside, I think almost every incarnation of their D1 unis have been some of the nicest of all the mid-majors. Although it's hard to mess up a color set like black, yellow and white.

But I think the standardized branding of the UW schools is on its last legs. Last year, UW-Stout added "Wisconsin's Polytechnic University" to it's official name (a la "Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey"). If the standard hyphenation did happen, I think UWM would become the U. of Milwaukee simply to avoid fighting with a few other schools over "Wisconsin State" which would argue that Milwaukee isn't what people typically think of when they hear "Wisconsin." And I'd like to see UWGB become Northeast Wisconsin U (read: NEW U).

I actually did a project awhile back to rebrand all the UW institutions. I meant to go in and design logos for all of them, but haven't had the time so far.

Eau Claire Chippewa Valley University

Green Bay Northeast Wisconsin University (NEW U)

La Crosse Wisconsin State University

Madison University of Wisconsin

Milwaukee University of Milwaukee

Oshkosh Fox Valley University

Parkside Lake Michigan University

Platteville Wisconsin Technological University

River Falls University of Western Wisconsin

Steven's Point University of Central Wisconsin

Stout Wisconsin Polytechnic University

Superior University of Northern Wisconsin

Whitewater University of Southern Wisconsin

[PackerBadger]

I think Green Bay could be GBU, unless there already is one (which I cannot think of). It's true that at least D-1 UW-schools seem unimportant compared to the Badgers, so that should be the case, to change Milwaukee, Oshkosh, and Green Bay (although Oshkosh is D-3, I think). On a side note, I saw the UWM Panthers basketball game on TV, and the jerseys look nice. They say just "Milwaukee" in a really nice wordmark, so that would be a good standard to follow.

UWM's jerseys have said "Milwaukee" ever since their jump to D1 in 1991 (and their last couple years in D2, IIRC). Personal biases aside, I think almost every incarnation of their D1 unis have been some of the nicest of all the mid-majors. Although it's hard to mess up a color set like black, yellow and white.

But I think the standardized branding of the UW schools is on its last legs. Last year, UW-Stout added "Wisconsin's Polytechnic University" to it's official name (a la "Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey"). If the standard hyphenation did happen, I think UWM would become the U. of Milwaukee simply to avoid fighting with a few other schools over "Wisconsin State" which would argue that Milwaukee isn't what people typically think of when they hear "Wisconsin." And I'd like to see UWGB become Northeast Wisconsin U (read: NEW U).

I actually did a project awhile back to rebrand all the UW institutions. I meant to go in and design logos for all of them, but haven't had the time so far.

Eau Claire Chippewa Valley University

Green Bay Northeast Wisconsin University (NEW U)

La Crosse Wisconsin State University

Madison University of Wisconsin

Milwaukee University of Milwaukee

Oshkosh Fox Valley University

Parkside Lake Michigan University

Platteville Wisconsin Technological University

River Falls University of Western Wisconsin

Steven's Point University of Central Wisconsin

Stout Wisconsin Polytechnic University

Superior University of Northern Wisconsin

Whitewater University of Southern Wisconsin

An excellent project. "NEW U" may well be better than UGB. I believe UWO should be "Wisconsin State." (UWO is a bit more centrally located than UWL.) A game between what now is Platteville and what now is (as I used to call them on college basketball games I announced) "Give-me-some-men-who-are-STOUT-hearted-men" would be "Tech" vs. "Poly," although given their mining and ag background, Platteville could also be Wisconsin A&M.

As for UWEC vs. UWRF vs. Stout, one could ask why there are three UW schools that close to each other.

[WideRight]

I like the rebranding, but you are missing some obvious choices:

Madison: U. of Wisconsin

Milwaukee: U. of Milwaukee

Green Bay: Favre State U.

LaCrosse: Old Style State U.

Oshkosh: B'Gosh College & Outlet Mall

Eau Claire: Clearwater College

Superior: U. of the Tundra

Platteville: Hey Where'd the Bears Go University

Parkside: Pahksayid in Da How-iss University

River Falls: Eastern Minnesota State U.

Stevens P: Hey Dere College, Ya Know

Whitewater: Too Lazy to drive to Madison or Milwaukee State U.

Sorry, as a UW-Madison Alum, I had to poke fun at some of the other non-flagship boats in the Wisconsin fleet. To be serious for a second, I like U of Milwaukee, and some of the directional names. I am really not a fan of a school with "State" in the name, when the rest of the name is a city or some other reference (Towson State, San Diego State). I get why they do it, but I would rather they just pulled a Purdue or Rutgers and named it Towson U. or Balboa U. etc.

I live in the Quad Cities, Illinois-Iowa and for years have tried to come up with a name for the branch of Western Illinois U. that is getting bigger and bigger in Moline. Eventually it will split off, but all the good directional names are taken. So I think they need to go a totally different direction: Prairie State U., Illinois A&M, Illinois Tech, or U. of Illowa.

[patsox]

The "UMIL" wordmark is very similar to the UMass wordmark...just throwing that out there,

[Moser316]

The "UMIL" wordmark is very similar to the UMass wordmark...just throwing that out there,

Profound. Especially when illwauk already noted this in the introduction.

Count me as an alum who favors the name "Wisconsin State University" over "University of Milwaukee", but all in all I like this concept. In particular (and this may be wishful thinking on my part), I like the football helmets best. Very classy look for what would be a I-AA program if a stadium ever gets built...

[patsox]

The "UMIL" wordmark is very similar to the UMass wordmark...just throwing that out there,

Profound. Especially when illwauk already noted this in the introduction.

Count me as an alum who favors the name "Wisconsin State University" over "University of Milwaukee", but all in all I like this concept. In particular (and this may be wishful thinking on my part), I like the football helmets best. Very classy look for what would be a I-AA program if a stadium ever gets built...

oops.

[PackerBadger]

I live in the Quad Cities, Illinois-Iowa and for years have tried to come up with a name for the branch of Western Illinois U. that is getting bigger and bigger in Moline. Eventually it will split off, but all the good directional names are taken. So I think they need to go a totally different direction: Prairie State U., Illinois A&M, Illinois Tech, or U. of Illowa.

How about ... the University of I-74/280?

[illwauk]

An excellent project. "NEW U" may well be better than UGB. I believe UWO should be "Wisconsin State." (UWO is a bit more centrally located than UWL.) A game between what now is Platteville and what now is (as I used to call them on college basketball games I announced) "Give-me-some-men-who-are-STOUT-hearted-men" would be "Tech" vs. "Poly," although given their mining and ag background, Platteville could also be Wisconsin A&M.

As for UWEC vs. UWRF vs. Stout, one could ask why there are three UW schools that close to each other.

I was concerned about the Tech vs. Poly thing too, but I figured if California could have a Tech and a Poly, so could we. Besides, Platteville was actually known as Wisconsin Tech for a few years before it joined the UW system and "Poly" is now part of Stout's official name, so what can you do?

I chose UWL to be "Wisconsin State" for a few reasons:

-It's considered the most prestigious of the non-doctoral UW schools (at least according to US News & World Report)

-If I didn't use it for La Crosse, I'd have to use more secondary-directional names. And unlike NEW U, NWW U and SWW U don't lend themselves to any cool acronyms

-Making Oshkosh into WSU doesn't allow me to make a logo of a fox dressed up as a titan

I've always wondered what the reason was for Stout, RF and EC my damn self, especially when that's probably the least populated part of the state. It'd make sense if one of them was originally a UW school while the others were part of the old Wisconsin Normal/Teachers/State/etc. system but they were all part of the latter until the two systems were merged.

I live in the Quad Cities, Illinois-Iowa and for years have tried to come up with a name for the branch of Western Illinois U. that is getting bigger and bigger in Moline. Eventually it will split off, but all the good directional names are taken. So I think they need to go a totally different direction: Prairie State U., Illinois A&M, Illinois Tech, or U. of Illowa.

What about "University of the Quad Cities?"

[PackerBadger]

What about "University of the Quad Cities?"

"LET'S GO QUAD! LET'S GO QUAD!"

A reference to the mighty Mississippi would work too ... for the Quad or for UWL.

[leopard88]

I am really not a fan of a school with "State" in the name, when the rest of the name is a city or some other reference (Towson State, San Diego State). I get why they do it, but I would rather they just pulled a Purdue or Rutgers and named it Towson U. or Balboa U. etc.

FYI -- Towson made the switch several years ago (within the last decade, IIRC, but I don't remember the exact date).

As for Univ. of Milwaukee vs. Wisconsin State, I would vote for UM. As someone mentioned before, "Univ. of [iNSERT SEMI-MAJOR CITY HERE]" just usually sounds better that "[iNSERT STATE NAME HERE] State Univ."

[The_Admiral]

What about "University of the Quad Cities?"

That sounds cool, but the problem is that half of the quad (Bettendorf, Davenport) is in Iowa, whereas Rock Island and Moline are in Illinois, so it gets a little dicey. "University of Moline" could work, but it'd be cooler were it in Rock Island, because then you could have the University of Rock.

[jonkj]

Eau Claire Chippewa Valley University

La Crosse Wisconsin State University

That might be confusing with Chippewa Valley Technical College nearby. And with La Crosse, there is already a WSU not far away (Winona State University).