Tar Heels Get Consistent and Modernize Logos. Argyle for All!

Consistency.

That was the primary focus on the latest UNC Tar Heels re-branding. Colour, fonts,… argyle. They also updated their “NC” mark.

“The main goal was to build on our tradition, and then come up with something that is exciting for recruits and current student athletes, and then gain some consistency across all of our sports and across the university,” said Bubba Cunningham, UNC’s athletic director to The News & Observer

Cunningham continued, “It’s really hard trying to get the same Carolina blue on all kinds of different product – whether it’s a paper product or clothing product or helmet”

It seems like something they would have already been doing for years, but beginning this fall, all 28 University of North Carolina varsity clubs will now use the same shade of blue on their uniforms, the same font for lettering and numerals, and make use of the argyle pattern long used by the UNC basketball team. This will roll out to the rest of the UNC sports teams in upcoming seasons.

“The changes are subtle, but they celebrate our history and create consistency as we further seek to distinguish our brand. This is our blue and we’re proud of it.” – Bubba Cunningham, UNC Press Release

In addition to the changes noted above, each varsity team will also incorporate the secondary colour scheme of navy blue, black, and metallic silver in some fashion.

The “rebranding” process was collaborated on with Nike over the past 18 months, which involved consulting with student-athletes, coaches, and administrators. The college also sought out the opinion of Alexander Julian who was the original designer of UNC’s famous argyle pattern.

“We’ve been talking for 10, 12 years about other applications of argyle here,” Julian told the News & Observer, “so it’s a dream come true for me. I have drawn different versions of that football uniform over there at least five or six times.”

UNC has used “Carolina Blue” for over 200 years, it’s origins traced back to the debating societies of the university choosing their respective colours (blue and white) in 1795. The UNC football club adopted Carolina Blue and white as their team colours in the 1890s cementing their place in Tar Heels athletics history.