CC is about more than just the mountains
The clothes we wear, the food we eat, the words we say, and the people we hang out with all play a part in how we choose to represent ourselves. While individuals must constantly make decisions like those, the same is true for corporations, stores, and schools. Colorado College is a school filled with intelligent and quirky folks, but does the college’s logo represent that well? We have a newly designed logo which bears more than a passing resemblance to my father’s law firm’s. In terms of representing CC based on the people who compose it, I would say our logo does not do its students justice.
Two years ago, CC unveiled its new logo, and two years ago, an article called “CC Unveils New Logo: Aims to Capture CC’s Unique Place, Programs, and People” was published in The Catalyst. The article describes the logo as one that “features a mountainous background and is designed, in part, to connect the identity of CC to its unique location at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.” When I Googled “colleges based by Rocky Mountains,” over 50 colleges appeared. While the mountains definitely play a part in a CC student’s journey, we are doing CC and its students an injustice when that becomes our sole defining characteristic. Additionally, the article explains how the logo was meant to convey the idea of CC’s being an “educational institution of the highest caliber.” CC’s academic standing probably played a part in a student’s decision to attend school here, but, again, I do not feel that it is the characteristic that students typically choose to primarily describe CC.
Prior to 2016, CC did not seem to have one “distinct” logo. Our scary-looking Prowler, was simply placed above the words “Colorado College” in different fonts. A main goal of the creation of this new logo was to unify CC’s image, according to President Tiefenthaler in the aforementioned article. She added that it was meant “to help us tell that story of program, place, and people to both our own constituencies and also those who don’t know so much about Colorado College.” Then my question becomes: what does our logo say about CC that cannot be found on a map?
While I write this article in opposition to our logo, I do not see my feelings causing any actual change in the future. Changing the logo costs a ridiculous amount of money. However, I think when the time comes for CC to re-imagine their logo again, it is important that it showcases the quirks of CC, along with the obvious Rocky Mountain traits that are important to the administration. I think that the logo should be a representation of some of the 2,101 students who compose its campus. Moreover, students should have been called upon for the creation of their new logo.
Students were sent various surveys requesting input for the possible new logo choices. So, students were not completely left in the dark. Yet, this school holds so many creative, artistic, tech-savvy students who are more than capable of creating a logo. Why not welcome their skills to create the logo that takes part in representing them, too? While our logo will most likely remain the same for a long time, I am curious what different structure the new logo would have taken if its creation had been more student-driven.
Caroline Williams
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