Shenandoah University Announces ‘Brand New Look’
Brand Platform and Graphic Identity Express the Unique Shenandoah Experience
President Tracy Fitzsimmons explained what it means to “live the brand” during a ceremony held today to celebrate the launch of Shenandoah University’s new brand and graphic identity.
“Our brand is composed of what we value, how we act as a community, how we deliver on the promises we make to people who depend on us,” said Dr. Fitzsimmons. “We are a creative, energetic campus that welcomes inquiry and scholarship. We provide an exceptionally close-knit community where students and faculty interact in a rich and challenging academic environment. So when you see the new logo, remember it stands for our vibrant, high-energy, innovative campus.”
During the 2009-10 academic year, groups of undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty and staff members were asked to sit in on multiple discussions about what Shenandoah University is – and what it is not – with representatives from an educational branding agency, Educational Marketing Group, Inc. The new brand and graphic identity were developed using input from those meeting with the Shenandoah community.
Shenandoah’s brand platform is founded on broadly held and deeply felt core values and competitive advantages expressed by faculty, staff, students and alumni, and it provides language and concepts that tell the university’s story in simple and direct words.
The new university signature, consisting of a logo and wordmark, is the foundation for a graphic identity structure that provides symbolic representation for Shenandoah’s schools, programs and departments.
The logo is inspired by the Shenandoah’s history and picturesque location. The crest itself, a traditional symbol of academic quality and strength, recalls the stained glass windows in the United Methodist Church in Dayton. The flowing design within the crest depicts the mountains and rivers of the university’s home in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. Two stars in the evening sky are derived from the Native American meaning of the word Shenandoah – “daughter of the stars,” and represent the two locations the university has occupied during its 135-year history, originally in Dayton and now in Winchester. The year below the horizon reflects the university’s founding date.
“The logo is really a representation of how we comport ourselves in our work and our relationships,” said Fitzsimmons. “If we do a good job of it, the logo shines as a symbol of our commitment, our compassion and our dedication to the vision of Shenandoah.”