TERRE HAUTE, IND.  – Indiana State University has unveiled a refreshed athletics branding package including logo, updated wordmark, font package and branding platform during an on-campus press conference today (March 3). The event was led by president Dr. Deborah J. Curtis and Director of Athletics Sherard Clinkscales.  
 
A new day is dawning in Terre Haute. Indiana State Sycamore athletics, a tradition forged by legends like World Champion Larry Bird, Hall of Famer Melanie Boeglin and Legendary basketball coach John Wooden begins a new era in its rich history. A program with a storied past will bring forth a modern brand to help write the story for a new generation of Sycamores.
 
Beaming with pride for the state it calls home, the Indiana state outline remains the cornerstone of the athletic brand. A typeface that projects power and tradition, arced to honor the emblem that represented this fabled program for more than three decades. The two elements united against an "I" so there's no mistaking where the Sycamores call home.
 
Welcome to the future of the Indiana State University Sycamores. March On!
 
"This is an exciting day for Indiana State University and the fans of our teams, Dr. Deborah Curtis said. "We have a modern logo for Athletics that projects power, respects tradition, and honors our great state. The updated logo will engage a new generation and energize the Athletic Department brand. But the current logo isn't going away. It remains as a vintage mark. Baseball will continue to use the interlocking 'I-S.' After several months of careful planning and input, we're truly getting the best of all worlds."
 
The press conference was held as part of the beginning of the Sycamore Basketball postseason. The new marks will debut on the Under Armour shooting shirts at Arch Madness 2020, to be held from March 5-8 at the Enterprise Center. This is the 30^th anniversary of the State Farm Missouri Valley Conference Championship being held in St. Louis.
  
"This is an exciting day for Sycamore Athletics as we position ourselves for the future while also paying respect to the rich tradition at Indiana State," Director of Athletics Sherard Clinkscales said. "It is vital that we continue to move our brand forward in a more consistent manner and these refreshed logos will held accomplish that. More importantly, this rebrand pays homage to all of those who laid it all on the line for Sycamore Athletics."
 
In the spring of 2018, Indiana State University embarked on a mission to overhaul the athletics brand, primarily through the development of a new family of marks and typeface. In partnership with Old Hat Creative, based in Oklahoma City, Okla., the project consisted of the development of a new primary mark, a family of wordmarks for "Indiana State," and a new primary typeface, all of which will replace the existing marks moving forward.
 
The logo that has been in place since 1988 will remain as a vintage mark. The interlocking "I-S" mark will continue to be utilized for baseball only. The "Indiana State" script will continue to be used on the Sycamore Track & Field uniforms only in tribute to the legacy of longtime program coordinator John McNichols.

"It was such an honor to be selected to design a new family of logos for an athletic program with such a storied tradition," said Zac Logsdon, CEO and founder of Old Hat. "We did a lot of research among fans, alumni and donors to determine what was most important to them about the brand so we could carry that over into the new set of marks. We wanted to honor the past while at the same time giving Indiana State a modern identity that will represent the Sycamores for years to come."

The logo refresh also comes ahead of Indiana State University's Give to Blue Day which will be held on March 11. Give to Blue Day is a 24-hour fundraising and engagement opportunity for Indiana State University students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni, and friends. On March 11, Sycamores nationwide will be donating to various university units, including the Athletics Department as well as the individual sports programs.
 
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
 
WHY WAS A REBRAND NECESSARY?
For many reasons, Indiana State University felt it was time to refresh and update its athletics brand. The current logo has become outdated and in order to move forward and appeal to a new generation of Sycamore fans, ISU Athletics decided a modernization of the mark was in order.
 
From a technical standpoint, the existing primary mark created problems for reproduction. The dominance of white in the mark created issues when placing the mark on certain backgrounds and the high level of detail in the state outline caused problems with embroidery and any time the logo was printed small. Additionally, the location of the star in the current mark, which is intended to indicate the location of Terre Haute, does not accurately represent the placement of the city within the state outline. Finally, the use of the curved "Sycamore" script made it difficult to utilize that typeface separate from the primary mark making any use of the individual elements from that mark impossible.
 
From a visual standpoint, the current logo simply looks outdated. The logo was last redesigned in 1988, prior to the advent of digital technology that allows for athletic marks to be more current and modern. Simply put, the existing primary logo appears old and antiquated, which negatively affects Indiana State from a national perception, fan engagement and recruiting standpoint. Modernizing the logo, while paying tribute to the history of the mark, will allow Indiana State to recruit better, build a better national perception and engage a new generation of fans.
 
Indiana State's athletic brand has a long history of being defined by the next generation of fans. It was the student body that voted to change from the Fighting Teachers to the Sycamores, escorting in a new era for Indiana State Athletics. And it is today's students and young alumni that we must engage with an updated brand as they will be the ones carrying the flag of support for many years to come.

 WHO DESIGNED THE NEW LOOK?
Indiana State Athletics engaged Old Hat, a creative firm based in Norman, Okla., to complete the athletic rebrand. Old Hat has a 15-year history working in collegiate athletics, has completed numerous rebrands during that time and has worked with more than 150 sports organizations on strategic marketing, branding, research and creative engagements.

WHAT WAS THE PROCESS FOR THE REDESIGN?
Old Hat's rebranding process began with exhaustive research of the history of Indiana State Athletics, its past marks, its fan base and the key constituents of the athletic department. In order to figure out the direction the brand should move, we had to determine where the brand had been and what is most important to the ISU brand.
 
Surveys were conducted to establish what was and wasn't working about the existing family of marks, and what was and wasn't important to retain with the new family of marks. Feedback was gathered from fans, key members of the athletic department as well as the university president and senior staff. This feedback served as the basis upon which all creative was built.
 
The next step of the process consisted of numerous sketches and creative directions, all of which took into account the information gathered from the research phase. The selections were narrowed, digital versions were created and the logo went through numerous rounds of tweaks and revisions before the final version was submitted for approval. The final family of marks were submitted to a committee including all senior athletics staff and the president's office. After all opinions were submitted and considered and final revisions were made, the final family of marks were approved and a style guide was created.
 
ELEMENTS OF THE BRAND
Based on the research conducted, it was very apparent that there was much equity in the usage of the state of Indiana outline. We felt that in order for the new logo to be embraced and celebrated by the Sycamore community, it was imperative that we utilize that brand element. At the same time, it was the state outline that had historically caused so many problems in replication due to the high level of detail. Therefore, we took a more modern and more stylized approach to representing the state of Indiana that represents the borders in a sleek and bold way, while continuing to be unmistakably the state outline.
 
The current typeface used for the word "Sycamores" needed a new look for multiple reasons. The typeface had never been converted into a full alphabet which prevented Indiana State from ever translating that brand element to other usages. Additionally, it was never developed in any form beyond the arced version that appears in the primary logo (i.e. straight across, angled, etc.). The arced version was very difficult to use on jerseys and other apparel as a stand-alone element because without the state of Indiana outline behind it, the arced "Sycamores" mark looked awkward and out-of-place. Research revealed that like the state outline, using the term "Sycamores" in the primary mark held much equity and needed to remain in the new mark, as opposed to using "Indiana State" as the primary text. Therefore, a new approach was taken utilizing a more traditional, collegiate typeface that was customized and modernized for our purposes. The new typeface projects strength and pride, while maintaining the collegiate feel Indiana State was striving for.
 
The "I" was included as a background element to serve two purposes. Externally, there was a feeling that some may not immediately recognize the state outline as being Indiana. The current mark caused confusion among sports fans outside the state of Indiana because there was no reference to the school name and outsiders did not immediately recognize the state outline. Adding the "I" creates a more easily recognizable mark to improve national recognition and perception for the Sycamore brand. Additionally, without the "I" the logo lacked the visual appeal a new mark requires to create brand equity.
 
After the primary mark was finalized and approved by the university, a family of marks was created to amplify the brand further. An updated version of the "Indiana State" mark utilizing the new state outline containing the "I" was developed to create brand consistency among the entire family of logos.
 
WHAT IS THE TIMELINE FOR USE OF THE NEW LOGOS?
Today's press conference signified a local launch of the branding and refreshed logos. Certain digital platforms including University and athletic websites and social media will adopt the new logos immediately. Signage and publications on the ISU campus will utilize the updated logo over the coming months. Athletic uniforms and apparel will reflect the updates as teams enter the next purchase cycle. Fully rebranding the campus and athletic facilities is a time-consuming and expensive endeavor. This process will be completed giving priority to highly visible locations and only as funding is identified. A limited amount of apparel with the new marks is available immediately on GoSycamores.com and at Pacesetter Sports in Terre Haute. A full national launch of updated apparel will be unveiled in the coming months.
 
WHERE CAN THE NEW LOGOS BE DOWNLOADED
View the new marks and color guidelines at GoSycamores.com. If you are interested in obtaining a license to produce merchandise with the new athletics marks, please contact our licensing partner CLC (Eric.Hrubes@CLC.com).