The Implementation Committee (IC) of Case Western Reserve University’s Branding Task Group is seeking input from the university community.

The IC is beginning the process of creating a logo design and brand-positioning platform that is reflective of the shared contributions of Case Institute of Technology and Western Reserve University and the university’s current brand position.

In the first of what will be three phases of community input, the IC is hosting an opportunity for faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of the university to offer ideas on-line through this forum. The IC asks that the university community provide thoughts around these three questions:

• What attributes or concepts does Case Western Reserve University embody?
• What words do you use to describe the university to relatives, peers or friends?
• What images come to mind when you think of Case Western Reserve University?

Thank you for your insights. For additional information on the branding process, go to http://www.case.edu/president/btg.

Paula Baughn, on behalf of the Implementation Committee



Note to alumni from the forum.case.edu administrators: in order to post on this site, you will have to register for a "CWRUser account" if you haven't already done so. This process should be open to all WRU, CIT, and CWRU alumni.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit was 2007:03:27:13:32:43 by Andrew Witte.

I think there are better ways for the university to use its resources than on pictures, fonts and debating the number of words in the university name. This is a colossal waste of time and resources that is only being pursued to appease the interests of alumni who should probably just be ignored.

More on topic:
• What attributes or concepts does Case Western Reserve University embody?
None come to mind.

• What words do you use to describe the university to relatives, peers or friends?
These words are probably not appropriate for this forum.

• What images come to mind when you think of Case Western Reserve University?
Orange Barrels



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit was 2007:03:22:12:43:08 by Adam Perzynski.

Adam Perzynski:

This is a colossal waste of time and resources that is only being pursued to appease the interests of alumni who should probably just be ignored.

Alumni have money so they should not be ignored. I hope an alumnus is in the place to hire you one day and says sorry you "ignored" me.

• What attributes or concepts does Case Western Reserve University embody?

I think our big problem is gaining recognition through prestige. We are as good as Carnegie Mellon and U of Chicago -- yet they are seen as more prestigious and more well-known. I think Hundert sincerely had this vision, but was horrible at implementing it. Our old logo made us seem like a really bad research company or computer company (an 'Initech' of sorts). We need something that reflects prestige, and while shouldn't be a mirror image -- we should look towards the Ivy League, U of Chicago, NYU, and schools of these calibers for similar logos. There's something that we aren't doing right in comparison to these universities -- and while of course, a logo isn't going to change much, perhaps it will help create a firmer collegiate atmosphere of belonging to an important university. There is a lot of awkwardness to be found in this sense of 'belonging to the university' throughout our student body now.


• What images come to mind when you think of Case Western Reserve University?

I think we should incorporate the old sunshine logo, but let's not rely on it. We should remove the current logo completely. It's utter trash, and it does not reflect anything about a university quite honestly. It's good for a research company or something but it's laughable for a top 50 college. I don't have a problem with the Case name, but ever since I even considered applying to Case, I felt some stupid sense of embarrassment in the idiotic logo that this school chose. We need a collegiate atmosphere -- one that says "we are the best university in Ohio!" -- one that is pleasing to people out of state.

Students, for the most part, are kind of embarrassed how much this school oozes of the 1960s and 1970s. We have so much modern art on this campus, it's ridiculous. I have no problem with a few statues and works of art around campus, but you cannot go in one direction without running into some kind of ambiguous statue or design. It's aesthetically pleasing and looks nice on the campus, but we tie so much meaning to the stupid "Turning Point" it's ridiculous. This college needs to have more so we don't have to brag up the fifty million pieces of modern art all around this campus with some deep meaning. I think the logo reeked of this modern art image. I know we are a school that was formed in the 1960s, but our traditions go back further than this. This school just seems absurdly set on keeping this bad feeling of abstract concepts to everything they try to do for this school. Thank goodness they are erecting a statue of Dog Oc and not some stupid modern art in his rememberence. We need a more collegiate air to this school, and modern art (which ties into the logo, I feel) while trying to tie some laughably bad concept to it, is not the way to achieve this. I don't understand how this school is so bad at that of all things. Also, this is not a critique of modern art. I just think this campus is so over-saturated, and we wonder why the students have such a hard time connecting on this campus. We want to belong! We want traditions -- we want to feel as a part of something historical. This school has a lot of history, but I don't get anything standing in the middle of the "Turning Point" and looking around. Just think of the collegiate atmosphere when designing this logo, is what I am pleading through my tangent. The students really want to feel like we belong, but everything is so cold and stoic here -- we are a university and a leading one, but we come off as merely a "research institute."

The original logo should be reinstated as it reflects the long history of the institution. The shortened version of the university's name from Case Western Reserve University to CASE is good and heightens name recognition.

Case Western Reserve University:


Carnegie Mellon University:


University of Chicago:


New York University:


Emory:


Cornell:


Brandeis:


Brown[b/]:


[b]Johns Hopkins:


Tulane:


Vanderbilt:


Wash U:


University of Pennsylvania:


Rochester:


Princeton:


Northwestern:


MIT:

I should point out that some of these are official seals. Wikipedia does not always have the type of secondary branding that Case uses.

Please just go back to the old logo. If it's not broken, why fix it? To spend any more money on "branding" is ludicrous. There are people who have been laid-off. Salaries have been frozen. The mistake was made. Just go back, and don't spend any more money on it.
David LePage, Ph.D.

I'm going to throw my opinion in full support of the rebranding campaign, and President Eastwood for sticking his neck out to start it. I understand why previous administrators wanted to turn our clumsy "C-W-R-U" into something with a little more pop to compete with short brands "Yale," "Penn," "MIT," "Vandy," etc. "Case" is a very logical choice. However, I also understand why Western Reserve alumni are ticked off, because their institutional history is being pushed out. I would be ticked if my alma mater experienced the same, and wouldn't donate a penny!

On that note, I think all of you people complaining about "wasting money" can stuff it. There are two choices here: do nothing, and never see another dime from Western Reserve grads (i.e. doctors and lawyers), or spend a few million to correct the mistake that was dropping them from prominence in our brand. I'm going to bet that the long-term charity of reconciled alumni is going to be greater than the immediate cost of rebranding.

My final suggestion is to not jump back to the rising sun logo. For starters, that is really no better in outwardly recognizing the two institutions. Further, I've never heard that that logo was well loved by all in the first place. The silly basket weave we have now is no better, in that regard, but at least it is recognizable (think of other logos that have nothing to do with their product or service: Big golden "M" for MacDonalds, empty square for Nationwide insurance, four colored sqaures for CCF, etc.)

In the way of feedback to Paula's questions, I have only comments on the words I use to describe the university to relatives, peers or friends. To people familiar with the school, I call it Case. For people in the area (Ohio, nearby PA, etc), I say "Case Western." For people far, far away, I use the whole thing, and I hate it. It's a lot to say. By the time I get to "University," people have forgotten my name. And I'm very grateful that I don't have to spell "cwru.edu" anymore, because people NEVER got that, which you would think wouldn't be a problem, seeing as I'm spelling it and everything. I think it was the "W."

Anyway, I'll see everyone at the bookstore when the old logo stuff goes on sale.

Continuing the images a bit:

Harvard:


CalTech:


UIUC:


Boston University


Olin


RIT


Most of the ones posted look far better than Case's logo. Even the modernist ones like Olin and RIT.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit was 2007:03:22:15:21:24 by Joseph Recht.