Students and staff ended up with more questions than information after a district-wide survey on Jan. 16 asked for people to vote on one of three possible logo updates for the school. Jeremy Schlitz, the District Athletic Director, worked directly on this project and has some answers for the East community, though when the final logo redesign will be announced is still unclear.
The purpose of redesigning the logos and mascots for each high school is to have “consistent image for all branding in the school,” Schlitz said.
To redesign the logos, first the district would have to gather input from the high school athletic departments and then have the company, Varsity Brands, create some designs based on that input.
Those who might wonder what this will cost the district shouldn’t worry because Schlitz says that the redesign won’t cost MMSD anything. The logo design service was free as part of an existing contract with Varsity Brands, related to apparel. And as for sports costs, the team uniforms get replaced every few years, so next time the football, basketball, soccer, etc. teams get their new uniforms, that’s when they can order with the new logo on it. The new logo will also be used in new spaces to update the building aesthetic, digital items and other school sponsored materials, Schlitz said.
“It will be integrated into existing budget allocations for facility updates, equipment purchases and apparel/graphics. In fact, we have credit to allow us to incorporate new graphics and images into our recently improved facilities with no cost to the schools or district,” Schlitz said.
Perhaps most important of all, is the opportunity for the schools to benefit financially from this logo update, as this process will allow MMSD to register the school logos and protect them.
“Currently our images are sold at CVS, Walgreens, Target and other retailers with no connection or permission from the schools along with individual entrepreneurs. Control of our mascot images would allow us to not allow others to profit from this, and potentially support school programs as their provider,” Schlitz said.
Currently, there is no update on when a new logo will be revealed. Once the designs have been fine tuned, MMSD’s Senior Executive Director of Communications, Edell Fiedler, said there will be additional opportunities to give the district feedback before any final logo decisions are made.
