The University of California, Santa Cruz, is seeking input from alumni, fans and students as it looks to refresh its athletic brand around its beloved mascot, Sammy the Slug, which has taken on many styles since the Banana Slug nickname was introduced in 1986.
The #NewSlug2020 campaign will help the university select a new logo, custom font and associated marks in order to “establish a single, consistent visual representation of the Slug in all athletic branding.” It will replace the Strong Slug most often used by athletics, but not the Fiat Slug used by the UC Santa Cruz bookstore or the logo used by the department of recreation.
The process will include multiple rounds of voting, methodically narrowing the field of concepts to just two slugs and two fonts. Multiple town hall meetings will take place in front of a university-appointed brand committee, which will then vote between the final two concepts.
Below are the 18 concepts included in the first round of voting, which closes today, Feb. 18.
Photos via the University of California, Santa Cruz.
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