An Official Update to a Premier Brand

Longtime client Official Sports wanted to update its signature U.S. Soccer referee uniform to a modern, clean look using premiere materials and addressing some of the limitations of their previous shirt. As a trail and ultra runner, Studio 23 owner Lee Willett had some strong ideas about what a referee would want in a performance shirt and set to work. While the company could have worked with a standard clothing designer, they understood the importance that the shirt had as a cornerstone of their brand and wanted to make sure that whatever the new design was, it would maintain a visual link to their current shirt.

The core branding element of the previous uniform was a repeating pattern of a pair of thin and thick stripes running the length of the shirt from shoulder to waist. Among other things, this meant that each component of the shirt was die-sub printed separately so that the stripes aligned but the process of imprinting altered the base material performance capabilities. Since, regardless of the design, we knew the shirt needed to perform like a champ, we looked for alternatives that would allow us to retain the stripe but limit the printing. We developed over a dozen alternative designs showing different collars, pocket openings, shirt closures, and stripe details. In the end, Official Sports and USSF decided to implement a design with a half zip front, slim spread collar, ventilated side panels with subtle chevron design, and an inset stripe detailing on front, back, and sleeves as a nod to the original shirt.

The final design is cleaner, looks more athletic, and has been well received by referees throughout the country. It retains the signature double stripe as a graphic element and thus insures continuity of the brand. But as for how it looks, you make the call. See it at OfficialSports.com

What’s in a Name?

The Wikipedia entry says it right there: John Jay High School is a public high school located in Cross River, New York. It is the only high school in the Katonah-Lewisboro School District. The school, which opened in 1956, is named after John Jay, a Founding father of the United States, and first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who lived nearby. Over the years, the school has been heavily criticized for its mascot, the Indians.

At several times over the past 30 years, the question has been raised whether the school should change its mascot yet, although a 1989 vote by student congress revealed it should, nothing has changed. A recent poll of students revealed a majority of students voting were reluctant to abandon the Indian although there was considerable discussion at the school about the issue. As members of the community, we at Studio 23 had some thoughts.

At the time of the school’s founding, there was much less cultural sensitivity. The “Indian” was chosen, no doubt, as a symbol because it was white affluent society’s interpretation of a kind of fierceness. But recently, the student congress reached out to a native American cultural organization which pointed out that the term “indian” is a racial construct, and is offensive to many in their culture. Clearly, the mascot needs to go.

John Jay Indian Logos
Current John Jay High School iconography.

There are many reasons people are uncomfortable with change, particularly for symbols which hold special meaning to them. Tribal loyalties are questioned, emotions get stirred. But sometimes the issue can be as simple as not being able to see the possibilities beyond what they currently have. To that end, Studio 23 created a series of alternate identities as talking points, not as finished designs. For inspiration we looked at meaningful fauna that were native to the area in the time of John Jay—ravens, wolves, wildcats, hawks—as well as more intangible concepts such as patriot, pioneer, and American.

Below is a result of one of those explorations—the John Jay Revolution, inspired by the fact that John Jay was a prominent figure during the American revolution. The concept uses a tattered “revolutionary flag” as a core part of the identity. The new name implies rebellion and uprising but also implies a sense of speed and motion. The primary typeface used is Franklin Gothic (which would have made Ben Franklin proud) and the color is retained from the existing identity. The modular identity, shown in various possible configurations, includes the name, flag, stylized “JJ”, and is flexible enough to accommodate not only sports teams but clubs and organizations affiliated with the school.

While this is only a concept intended to spark a discussion, we urge the folks at John Jay to move the project forward and hope that our efforts can help in some small way to make that happen. We’d love to come to a game and see the crowd proudly waving their flags. That would be, ahem, revolutionary.

John Jay Indian Alternatives

Architects Kroeger and Intinarelli become Kroeger Intinarelli Architects

When two successful architects merged their practices, it’s like a marriage. They wanted something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue. We leveraged the identity of Kroeger Architects with its signature condensed font and blue color and built on that as Kroeger Intinarelli Architects, incorporating a subtle pencil line as a separator between the names.

We’ve developed a simple webpage for now to establish an online presence as well as business cards and other stationery. So far, we hear business is booming.

 

C-Suite Inc. Fashion Recruiting

C-Suite Inc. Website Design

c-suiteC-Suite Inc.C-Sutie Inc. Promotional Materials

Studio 23 completed a comprehensive branding initiative for C-Suite Inc., an executive recruiting company for the fashion industry. The initiative included logo development, website, print ads and direct mail marketing campaign. We were able to develop a look that was instantly identifiable yet professional in it’s communication. The Web site targets the executive audience with a mix of upscale fashion photography and corporate literature. And the robust content management system allows our client to edit the content as necessary.