Athletics have been an integral part of Hillsdale College from its beginning, a source of great spirit and pride for our school. As our athletes are driven by excellence (arete in ancient Greek) on both the field of competition and in the classroom, so too, does the College athletics brand need to be excellent. With more than a year’s worth of collaborative work between College departments, coaches, current students, and athletes, we explored the wide history and varied past elements of Hillsdale College Athletics to build a newly unified identity that is distinct, bold, and loyal to past traditions.
To develop a new brand for Charger Athletics, we had to understand our past. Staff from the Athletic and Marketing Departments engaged in a discovery process, exploring the history and athletic identities of Hillsdale College from its earliest days. This research informed every aspect of the new identity, preserving Hillsdale’s traditions while charging forward with a fresh, new look.
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Our new Charger logo is spirited and bold. It was designed to embody a sense of strength, ferocity, and pride as well as honor our past.
The sweeping and pointed curves illustrate a powerful aesthetic in muscular form and visual energy. The subtle mane bolt intentionally integrates and carries forward the tradition of our past lightning bolt.
The Charger defines who we are as a brand and establishes a clear and distinct identity for athletics.
We are Chargers. Charge on!
Beyond a unified system of logos and wordmarks, the comprehensive design system enables visual creativity for uniforms, apparel, and collateral.
The primary brand colors of white and blue are a core part of our College athletics history. With varying shades and colors in the past, the new identity is unified in navy blue, elevating the brand to a more sophisticated level and connecting athletics to the monolithic Hillsdale College institutional brand. A gray color has been added to the palette to allow for more variety and depth in contemporary apparel and uniform design, as well as to appeal to a wider audience of fans.
BLOG: What is a Charger? Meet the Designer: Bryan Springer, ’94From the Charger logo and wordmarks, to the color palette and graphic elements, the entire system comes together to present Hillsdale College Athletics as a distinct, serious, bold, and wholly unified brand that honors the traditions and history of its past. This brand refresh sought to:
Structured, bold, and condensed. Metronic Slab Narrow is a strong yet elegant typeface, presenting an enduring appearance with regular, geometric strokes, block serifs, and subtle curved forms. This typeface combines the traditional forms of our 19th century heritage, with a clean, elegant, and contemporary structure.
This is only a part of the overall effort to elevate the Hillsdale College Athletics brand. Additional elements include facility graphics, video and digital elements, and merchandising.
Questions? Contact athletics@hillsdalecollege.edu
Visit the BSN Team Shop to get your new Hillsdale Athletics gear! More gear will become available in the coming months and in the fall at the Hillsdale College Bookstore.
get your new gear!
Hillsdale College was founded in 1844 with a purpose to “develop the minds and hearts of its students,” a reference to the moral and intellectual virtues. The driving purpose of athletics at Hillsdale College is to cultivate these virtues. Their practice on the field of competition, inspires and elevates the minds of those who compete and those who watch.
