Nebraska Update

[meetthemets]

Nebraska Refreshes Its Secondary Logos

Randy York's N-Sider Blog

The Official Husker N-Sider

If every status has a symbol, and every brand lives in values that already exist, Nebraska's brand is in good hands. It is the sum of all the hearts and minds that understand our purpose, and it reflects our commitment to excellence.

Yes, we relish our far-reaching brand recognition because we've earned respect the old-fashioned way - through integrity, trust, teamwork and loyalty. But even an athletic department that has the best record in college football over the past 50 years, plus 50 consecutive years of sellout home football crowds, has to push the refresh button every 30 years or so.

In the next day or two, Nebraska will inform its licensees and retailers that a new secondary logo has been created, and more than likely, that logo will start showing up on such goods as caps, t-shirts, hats and clocks early next year, if not later this year. We offer up a word of caution for all Nebraska alumni, UNL students and Big Red fans: Do not be alarmed, even for one second.

Mission: Become a Leading Brand

"Our mission is to be a leading brand in college athletics, and when we refresh our brand, it moves us forward, not back," said Michael Stephens, Nebraska's assistant athletic director for Marketing and Licensing. "We feel strongly that an update to our secondary logos has been in store for some time. While our current N Huskers logo has served us well, a new mark will assist as we move our brand forward."

Stephens admits he's as steeped in Nebraska's tradition-rich history as anyone, but he also knows that the most powerful logos on earth need development just as much as they need management and protection.

"We work hard every day to be sure and use our powerful resources to establish one of the most prominent brands in the marketplace," said Stephens, whose team has been working with The Collegiate Licensing Company (CLC), headquartered in Atlanta.

Agency Satisfies Top-Tier Clients

A division of global sports and entertainment giant IMG College, CLC is the oldest and largest collegiate trademark licensing agency in the United States. Besides 200 colleges and universities, CLC counts the Heisman Trophy, the NCAA, bowl games and athletic conferences among its clients.

"We've been a satisfied client of CLC for more than 20 years," Stephens said. "Their creative department consistently listens to what we need and has been a great partner on this project. When you collaborate to tighten design, the result is a finished product that is fresh but matched who we are."

Essentially, Nebraska took the two current "word" brands - the "N" in the middle of Memorial Stadium's field and the "Huskers" etched in the North end zone - and "pulled those two logos together to form our new secondary mark," Stephens said. "Our goal for this project is consistent with our mission - move our brand forward but don't forget who we are."

Iron N: A Conversation Starter

Remember, secondary is a key word in this brand discussion. "Our primary mark will continue to be our Iron N," Stephens said. "That's our trademark, and everyone will continue to see that Iron N extending throughout our arenas, our uniforms and our publications."

Because the Iron N inherently stands for Nebraska, it is, was and always will symbolize the quality of Nebraska Athletics. That "N" does what rock-solid brands do - begins conversations not only among Big Red loyalists, but also among fans from other programs who respect every red N on white Husker helmets.

Speaking of helmets, that logo received a recent update to match the look of today's helmets more closely. The slight alteration was so imperceptible that anyone who might have noticed did not contact us to ask about it.

Transcends Angst, Builds Brand

Every nuance has been carefully considered, calculated and tied into the brand equity that the N and all the other word marks already have.

"Anytime you change the logo of an established brand, we're aware that it might cause some angst," Stephens said. "But we believe that the look of our new logo will help us move past that and become the building block that will strengthen our brand - now and into the future."

[BrandMooreArt]

its better than the previous one with the wacky script that looked cheap, or more of a high school mark. this bold type suggest its a school with pride and strong values. still, i dont like the thin lines through the N and around it. that makes it look weaker. they should have dropped the outer stroke. its worse because you have that red as a border then the wordmark only has white on the ends. its not as cohesive as it should be.

i really think they should match all their type to the Iron N. these small difference between the 2 logos makes it feel like one just didnt get updated. you have a secondary thats quite modern and a primary thats totally traditional, hasnt changed (except very slightly) in decades. it dosent suggest they really know who they are or where they're going. the identity is being pulled in 2 different directions, but if they just embraced the old school look, it could be as modern as it is classic and really seperate them from the billions of other red and white schools

[mattb6]

i actually like them.

[STL FANATIC]

Brandon said it right. This is an improvement, but just baby steps.

They could have really combined everything into a strong brand, and instead they just made things a little better than they were.

[Island_Style]

I know I am going to hear it from Husker fans but that helmet is juvenile crap. Looks like a kid tried to make a "N" with a roll of red tape. At least use the Nebraska N logo.

[pianoknight]

The helmet logo is not the primary mark. Everyone gets this wrong.

Primary (unchanged) Mark:

Old Secondary Mark:

Husker Helmet History:

Note that the school starting using "NU" back in 1967. They dropped the "U" in 1970 and the helmets have stayed identical since other than minor tweaks like facemask colors.

Here's Johnny Rodgers wearing the helmet back in the early 70's

Also note that other Husker sports utilize the primary logo. It's only the football team that clings to the "Skinny N" out of tradition.

[Island_Style]

PK, you are a Nebraska man. How would you feel if they did change the helmet?

[hawk36]

I know I am going to hear it from Husker fans but that helmet is juvenile crap. Looks like a kid tried to make a "N" with a roll of red tape. At least use the Nebraska N logo.

I DID THAT! Too funny. When I was a kid I had a blank white helmet and my parents bought me some red electrical tape and I made it into the Nebraska helmet. Identical. Great memory.

[pianoknight]

PK, you are a Nebraska man. How would you feel if they did change the helmet?

I would be fine if they updated the Skinny N and used the block, serif N logo. A lot of the old timers would roll over, though.

Demographically, I'm old enough to remember the 90's Domination but I'm young enough to appreciate new trends in sports apparel (Techfit, Pro Combats, etc). I think my perfect balance would be to see Nebraska wear alternates maybe twice or 3 times a season.

Any more and you dilute the brand. Any less and it just feels "bandwagony," like you were forced to do an ALT. 2 or 3 times is enough to make a conscious statement that you're hip and modern without going full Oregon or Maryland.

Actually, I'm going to start calling that Moregon'd.

[hawk36]

The helmet logo is not the primary mark. Everyone gets this wrong.

Primary (unchanged) Mark:

Old Secondary Mark:

Husker Helmet History:

Note that the school starting using "NU" back in 1967. They dropped the "U" in 1970 and the helmets have stayed identical since other than minor tweaks like facemask colors.

Also note that other Husker sports utilize the primary logo. It's only the football team that clings to the "Skinny N" out of tradition.

That N, without the outline, is amazing. Not sure why they need the outline ever.

[tBBP]

My 2/100 of a Washington note...they should've called Bosack.

[BrandMooreArt]

The helmet logo is not the primary mark. Everyone gets this wrong.

Primary (unchanged) Mark:

Old Secondary Mark:

Husker Helmet History:

Note that the school starting using "NU" back in 1967. They dropped the "U" in 1970 and the helmets have stayed identical since other than minor tweaks like facemask colors.

Also note that other Husker sports utilize the primary logo. It's only the football team that clings to the "Skinny N" out of tradition.

That N, without the outline, is amazing. Not sure why they need the outline ever.

exactly. the outlines are just an old collegiate aesthetic, so many schools use 1 or 2 outlines. Indiana does this now though.

Hoosiers have cleaned everything up across their branding and marketing points and i dont think anyone does red and white better than them. its simple 2 color application on everything and the only thing i can really fault them for is the sans-serif type in the endzones. its the opposite problem from Nebraska. Nebraska (and everyone else) needs to take note. simplify and amplify. the Huskers just adopting 1 main typeface (i say again the skinny N) alone would make a huge difference

[GFB]

If their goal was to have someone look at that type and say, "Yeah, I can see that font on a can of corn," then they hit the nail on the head.

[andrewharrington]

My 2/100 of a Washington note...they should've called Bosack.

The assets this brand needs already exist. The visuals are already there. Optimizing the Nebraska identity is all about craftsmanship at this point. Picking the correct pieces and dovetailing the joints before putting together that perfect dresser. Probably a waste of money to peg Bosack for this one. That guy specializes in creating great visuals from scratch.

That said, I still think the Nebraska identity could be streamlined and made better than it is now. I don't think their 'problem' was the secondary logo. Look no further than this: Primary logo is the Iron N with outline. Uniforms, hats and helmets all use various Ns, some matching the Iron N, some not, some with outline, some not. Even with this new logo, which I don't love but fits their identity better than the old, their identity still has much room for improvement and simplification. Yes, the helmet N is simple, even 'childish' as it was described, but it's unique and appealing, and I think that's part of the reason why. The stark simplicity is what makes it unlike any other collegiate letter logo, and, because it's so minimal, I always find it has a air of modernity as well.

I think as designers, we all gravitate toward those vividly simple marks like the Iron N with no outline (the wrestling singlet), the helmet N, etc. We can see that the little outlines tend to detract from the clarity of the mark, especially at farther distances.

The helmet logo is not the primary mark. Everyone gets this wrong.

Primary (unchanged) Mark:

Old Secondary Mark:

Husker Helmet History:

Note that the school starting using "NU" back in 1967. They dropped the "U" in 1970 and the helmets have stayed identical since other than minor tweaks like facemask colors.

Also note that other Husker sports utilize the primary logo. It's only the football team that clings to the "Skinny N" out of tradition.

That N, without the outline, is amazing. Not sure why they need the outline ever.

exactly. the outlines are just an old collegiate aesthetic, so many schools use 1 or 2 outlines. Indiana does this now though.

Hoosiers have cleaned everything up across their branding and marketing points and i dont think anyone does red and white better than them. its simple 2 color application on everything and the only thing i can really fault them for is the sans-serif type in the endzones. its the opposite problem from Nebraska. Nebraska (and everyone else) needs to take note. simplify and amplify. the Huskers just adopting 1 main typeface (i say again the skinny N) alone would make a huge difference

I would totally agree. Indiana is super slim and consistent with its identity. It's done a great job.

I think I'd prefer a nebraska identity in which the helmet N was the primary trademark. Either a matching typeface or a serif letterform (like the Iron N, but maybe slightly taller) could be developed as the primary lettering, and athletic block (maybe with a serif as well) would be used for the jersey numerals.