Washington Athletics Announces New Identity Program
April 18, 2001
Photo Gallery - New Logos, Marks, Fonts and Uniforms
All Washington marks, logo and images are registered by the university and may not be replicated or used without prior written permission by the University of Washington.
SEATTLE, Wash. - When Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges decided to make a personal audit of the Huskies' uniforms, marks, colors and other standards several years ago she determined that the ever-growing program was losing some of its core identity. As a result, following 15 months of work involving an internal committee and local and national branding experts, Washington today announced a new, consolidated identity program.
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"Our goal was simple, but the process was challenging," Hedges said. "We needed to review our marks and come up with a program that would work for all of our sports and give Washington athletics a uniform look. We wanted to accomplish that goal, but not at the risk of losing any of the heritage and tradition that has been built over time.
"I think we accomplished what we set out to do," she said. "Anyone who thought we were going to radically change our look underestimates the pride we have in our heritage and traditions. That was not an option and we made that clear to all of the designers. In fact, much of what we did goes back to some of the older styles. Our secondary logo (animated Husky), the Husky, been updated numerous times since it was originally adopted as the mascot. That is one area we wanted something new and exciting."
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Loree Payne model their teams' new uniforms. |
"All the presentations were very informative and we heard a lot of the same comments regarding the tradition of our marks and identity," Hedges said. "What Nike Team Sports presented was the expertise in taking a design and making it applicable. Their approach was to put the athlete first and then to move out. They only accept a small number of these types of projects each year and we appreciate the amount of attention they put into this endeavor."
The design team worked with a visual identity committee consisting of Washington alumni, staff, coaches, athletic administrators, supporters and consultants. The committee included director of athletics Barbara Hedges, football coach Rick Neuheisel, director of golf operations O.D. Vincent, Tyee Board vice chair Maxine Barnard, associate athletic director Gary Barta, assistant athletic directors Chip Lydum and Jim Daves, marketing and promotions director Leslie Wurzberger, special assistant to the president Norm Arkans, Michael Reagan, UW director of trademarks and licensing, UWAA alumni director John Buller, marketing consultant Bob Gobrecht and design consultant Marsha Hall Harris.
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The block W was also used to develop a new display typeface, Husky Bold, that will be unique for Washington athletics. The typeface will be used in the new identity program on all uniforms, court and field signage, publications and departmental letterhead. The typeface includes numerals used on all uniforms.
Application of the new marks began last fall when Washington installed its new FieldTurf playing surface in Husky Stadium. Unannounced, the endzones were scripted in the new Husky Bold typeface and the modified block W was painted at midfield.
Husky Bold was used for the baselines on the new basketball court when Bank of America Arena at Hec Edmundson Pavilion opened in December. When the Huskies faced Purdue in the 2001 Rose Bowl, the typeface was used in the Washington endzone.
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Washington's new secondary logo features a more modernistic Husky. The distinctive looking mark depicts an alerted Husky with strong, bold features, that represents character, fight, tenacity and courage. The logo can stand alone or with the words "Washington", "Huskies" or "Dawgs" beneath it.
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Since 1892 Washington's primary school colors have been purple and gold. The new identity launch has enhanced these colors and added a new accent color. The new gold has less orange tint while the purple is a darker shade that was more traditional for Washington's teams until the past two decades. A cool gray has been added as a possible highlight color for uniforms such as baseball and for general sportswear.
"The research showed that our purple had been almost a navy blue, but over the years more and more red was incorporated and it became a very bright purple," Hedges said. "Since there was no standard, we have seen a number of different shades of both colors. I'm not sure anyone could tell you exactly what gold was suppose to be associated with Washington. Gold is also a very difficult color to reproduce on clothing and in print. The new Husky Gold works much better on clothing and is a tremendous compliment to the darker, richer Husky Purple."
Washington's new uniforms for men's and women's soccer, baseball and men's and women's basketball all have classic features and include the new colors, typefaces and numerals.
The Husky football uniform will include the new Husky logo on the front left hip. Both the home and away jerseys feature a pair of pinstripes on the shoulders to add a dash of gold to the tops of the uniforms. The block W now appears at the base of the neckline on the jerseys. Washington's helmets have been repainted with a new gold which has less brown/bronze color than last year's shells. The Husky football team will don their new uniforms for the first time Saturday during the annual Spring football game. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m.
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As a part of the identity program, Washington has a style guide and a review process for all uniforms and applications of the marks.
Washington's new PMS numbers are:
Husky Purple - 5265
Husky Gold - 7502
Cool Gray - 11c
