In true CC fashion, a coalition of staff, faculty, students, and alumni (designated as the Knowledge Development Team, or KDT) and a trustee Strategic Project Team (SPT) closely examined the college\u2019s rich history, traditions, stories, and identity over a period of 18 months. The goal? To present to the college and to the world \u2014 as part of the college\u2019s strategic plan \u2014 a \u201ctruer sense of CC,\u201d a primer for better understanding and communicating what makes Colorado College unique and meaningful. The work culminated on January 25 with the launch of a reinvigorated Colorado College brand, including the Master Communications Plan and a new college logo and visual identity system.<\/p>\n
With research support provided by Boulder-based firm Victors & Spoils, owned by CC alum John Winsor \u201982<\/strong>, the Master Communications Plan revealed that the core of CC\u2019s identity can be communicated in three simple, yet powerful, elements:<\/p>\n Program: <\/strong>Colorado College is the highly selective, national liberal arts college where together, students and professors fully explore the depth and breadth of each subject, one class at a time.<\/em><\/p>\n Place: <\/strong>The<\/em> Rocky Mountain West sets the stage for much of this work, from classrooms, studios, and laboratories on CC\u2019s beautiful campus at the base of Pikes Peak to nearby mountains, the Southwest, and urban centers.<\/em><\/p>\n People: <\/strong>Here, curious, innovative, and adventurous lifelong learners foster meaningful relationships, working together toward attaining the finest liberal arts education in the country.<\/em><\/p>\n After crystallizing the brand into three elements, the next monumental task for the KDT and SPT was to express CC\u2019s identity in the form of a new college logo. CC hired Studio\/lab, a Chicago- and San Francisco-based firm specializing in identity design led by Marcia Lausen, director for the School of Design at the University of Illinois, Chicago and co-principal of the firm.<\/p>\n Their task was no easy feat: to design a new logo that reflected the college\u2019s identity and innovative academic program, while setting it apart from traditional logos of similar liberal arts colleges.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we approach developing an authentic logo for an organization, we look at how an organization talks about themselves and what constituents and supporters say,\u201d says Lausen, \u201cand we pick out strong descriptors, or words most often used, or those words that can inspire graphic form and design.\u201d<\/p>\n Some of the CC words that Studio\/lab highlighted in their research included \u201cadventurous,\u201d \u201cblock,\u201d \u201cinnovative,\u201d \u201cfriendly,\u201d \u201cvibrant,\u201d \u201cunique,\u201d and \u201cmajestic mountains.\u201d After taking these words and churning out at least 25 different sketches for the logo, Lausen and her team realized that a bit of \u201cgraphic magic\u201d occurred.<\/p>\n \u201cWe discovered that the people, and the place, and the program of Colorado College could be represented by [fundamental design shapes of] the circle, the square, and the triangle. And you can see those forms if you look for them in the final mark.\u201d<\/p>\n