As many may notice, there are new banners on the light posts of Nevada Street. The banners portray Colorado College’s new logo, but this is only one component of the multi-faceted Master Communications Plan.
A microcosm of the plan in totality, the logo is an attempt to bring a cohesive brand identity to Colorado College.
“It gives us a coherence of look that will communicate very clearly to the outside world that we are an educational institution of the highest caliber,” said English Professor Steven Hayward.
The logo is comprised of three shapes, each representative of a point of pride in CC. The square (the outline) represents the Block Plan; the triangle (the mountains) represents the campus’ location; the circles (the Cs themselves) represent the community.
Each tenant was chosen after President Tiefenthaler’s ‘Year of Listening,’ in which she talked to various members of the greater CC community about what made the college distinct.
Two independent firms were consulted in the creation of the Communications Plan. Victors & Spoils, Inc. was hired to conduct research while Studio/lab helped formulate the brand identity.
In addition to the logo, guidelines have been implemented surrounding writing style, website presentation, social media, photography, and video. There is also a new standard in font (Electra and Proxima Nova).
The re-branding of CC focuses on presenting a ‘unified voice’ to the outside world. Janet Turnis, Vice President of Communications, stresses that the unified voice is unrelated to freedom of ideas. “It has nothing to do with the classroom,” she explained. “It’s about looking and sounding like we are the same entity.”
Instead of unrelated icons, departments of CC will now have logos that are variants of the primary CC logo. New standards in photography and writing will insure a uniform image is presented to the world. “Colorado College’s people are intelligent, individualistic, innovative, and high achieving,” said Turnis. “These qualities must be reflected in all of the college’s communications.”
“When we affirm those characteristics and values that define us, we stay true to who we are, and to our mission,” wrote President Tiefenthaler in her opening letter to the Communications Plan. “When we clarify those qualities that distinguish us, we attract the right students, the right faculty, and the right staff who will thrive at Colorado College and make it even greater for generations to come.”
The CC brand is an attempt to market the authenticity (a word frequently used in the plan) of the community to the external world. In her opening letter, President Tiefenthaler expressed that the plan is geared at present CC clearly and authentically, emphasizing CC’s mission “to provide the finest liberal arts education in the country.”
“The brand promise is a statement that no other competitor can make, and it reflects the tangible elements of our identity that define Colorado College for all respective audiences,” the Communications Plan reads.
The Communications Plan has more to do with marketing and fundraising than every day life on campus, but it will influence how others view CC—and the schools direction moving forward.