BRANDON – The Brandon University Bobcats began an exciting new chapter on Wednesday as BU Athletics officially unveiled a revamped visual identity.
In 1967-68 the Bobcats era began when Brandon College transitioned to Brandon University. It has been 20 years since the last logo update when the burst logo replaced the traditional Bobcat head logo.
The 50th anniversary of the Bobcats in 2017-18 is perfect timing to give the ‘Cats a makeover while maintaining the key values instilled in the program from the start.
“The rebrand is a highly anticipated step in our long history of representing the campus and community,” said BU Athletic Director Russ Paddock. “We are excited incorporate the original Bobcat logo into the new design to pay homage to our proud tradition with the Bobcats and College Caps.”
The lengthy process for the rebrand started last fall. Project lead and BU Sports Information and Marketing Officer Matt Packwood worked alongside Brandon University’s communication and marketing department to finalize the new look over the spring and summer months.
“It’s a fairly common practice for sports teams, both in the varsity and pro ranks, to update their visual identity every so often,” said Packwood. “In the nearly fifty year history of the Bobcats there have been really only two formal logos, the original Bobcat head and the burst logo of the nineties. As such, we felt it was time for an update and we are really happy with what our design team has come up with.”
BU Athletics teamed up along alongside w/studio to create a new, sleek design that uses clean edges, is modern and is a throw-back to the original Bobcat logo. The Saskatoon based design firm has done prior work with BU as it designed the visual identity system for the entire university.
Member of w/studio Ty Johnston has Brandon roots and specifically with the Bobcats. Johnston was proud to play an instrumental role in another significant project for BU.
“Designing the Bobcats’ logo was pretty special for everyone at w/studio. I know for myself and the other project lead, Ben Myers, it was a unique opportunity to show some local pride as we both grew up in Brandon and took part in summer camps run by the Bobcats,” said Johnston. “We are thrilled with the final artwork and are excited to see it all come to life.”
The new visual identity comes with a complete graphics package with various versions of the logo, a wordmark and specialty font. A thorough BU Bobcat brand identity guide has also been produced.
