Contact: Maridith Geuder
A nine-month process begun by former Mississippi State president Robert H. "Doc" Foglesong is culminating in the introduction of new graphic symbols intended to unify and modernize current university marks, said Interim President Roy H. Ruby.
"A committee that included representatives from our trademarks and licensing office, as well as other units around campus, worked with a professional design firm to develop marks that incorporate the well-recognized M-State into the university's official signature," he said.
The firm, Joe Bosack Graphic Design of Pottsville, Penn., has created work for the National Basketball Association, the National Hockey League, the National Football League, Major League Baseball, Universal Studios, and dozens of individual teams and universities. The firm also created the Southeastern Conference's logo on the occasion of its 75th anniversary in 2007.
Both corporate and spirit marks are included in new trademarked symbols that represent an evolving and modern university, Ruby said. They were formally approved by the previous interim president earlier this fall.
"The new university wordmark incorporates a crest that is drawn directly from a shape in the center of MSU's traditional seal, forming a link to our history and past," he said. "The M-State is centered in that shape and will be used with a new typeface that clearly ties the symbol to the full university name."
Spirit marks include a more modernized Bully logo, a trademarked pawprint and a cowbell, all expected to be popular marks on official MSU merchandise. The M-State has been slightly streamlined so that fine details are not lost when translated to clothing and other official MSU merchandise.
"These are now being introduced in some athletic department merchandise and have been made available to official MSU vendors," Ruby said. "Graphic standards for campus use of the symbols are being rolled out now, and campus units should adopt these as they order new supplies of letterhead, update Web sites or plan new publications.
"We hope this family of marks will help Mississippi State brand itself consistently across every form of communication, ranging from publications and merchandise to Web sites and other electronic media," Ruby concluded.
For more about the symbols, see http://www.msstate.edu/web/visualid/.