New USC Athletics Branding
Before you read this post, swing by USCTrojans.com and check out the announcement.
What the heck just happened? Did athletics really need rebranding? Fixing what ain’t broke—and making it worse.
How do you go thinking you can improve something that’s been working for 100 years? Too many questions and not enough answers. Granted, not every single one of those things were 100 years old, but all of it carried a legacy.
They paid actual money for these “updates”. Consultants, man-hours, and when it’s all done, replacing courts, uniforms, equipment, banners, and even paper. Yes, letterhead can incur cost a pretty penny—or in this case, an ugly one. Whatever the case, it’s a cost too high to make a few things more pale. That happen naturally out in the sun, man.
Maybe I’m alone here and if I am, I’ll quietly endure these changes in the corner—but I’m willing to bet I’m not. Yet these designs got passed around more hands than a joint amongst junkies and somehow still got the green light.
Speaking of green, what’s up with this font? After a simple color change, some of the letters look like the pipes from Mario Bros.
I can almost hear the sound effects
It may be difficult for stylistic things to be objectively worse, but this rebranding sure wants to prove that statement wrong.
In case you’re still unsure what I’m griping about, it’s:
- Washing out the colors
- Inconsistent serifs
- Inconsistent kerning
- Wasting money
- Wasting time
Athletic Director Pat Haden was about three months away from retiring and he leaves us with these things to ponder…
CommBro Breaker
Maybe I’m overreacting a little. I can live with them removing the “Trojans” over the interlocking SC. It just doesn’t really fit in a lot of stuff. They’ve been inconsistent with its use anyway. Just take a look at almost anything in the renovated Heritage Hall or the neck of the jerseys. The continuing loss of color is probably what bugs me the most.
The changes seemed so unnecessary and wasteful…kind of like this other thing.
Alright, I think I beat that one to death. It’s just the latest chapter of unneeded “modernization.” Something more substantial would be like the Coliseum losing almost 16,000 seats. I wish I could say I was some old soul that just recoils at any change, but I’ve slept on this one for a night or two—and about 5 years for that shield thing.
Maybe Lynn Swann can save us from ourselves.
City of Angles 