The Colquitt County School District proposed this version of Colquitt County High School's interlocking Cs logo, but public response has prompted it to change the font to something more like the existing logo.

MOULTRIE – On June 30, the Colquitt County School District announced a new branding campaign that created logos for every school plus for the district itself, in some cases replacing logos created many years ago.

Public response has been mixed, with general approval of the elementary school logos but vocal disapproval for changes to symbols associated with the high school and athletics departments.

The response has led the district to pull back some of the logos to reconsider the font used in them, Colquitt County School Superintendent Ben Wiggins said Wednesday. Of particular concern was the interlocking CC, which is used as a logo on its own and which also appears as an element in other logos.

“The CC font introduced for the revised district branding was a version of a font currently in use at all athletic facilities and the high school, among other places,” Wiggins said. “Some of that signage has been up since 2006. During the branding planning process, all variations of the CC’s were looked at by the committees involved leading to the version that was introduced. Based on recent feedback, we are updating the CC’s in the branding to a block-style font.”

Origins of the logos

Wiggins said that when he first joined the district, he noticed that there were varied versions of what one would think would be standard items. He said the branding process was to reduce those differences.

The district’s goals were to have a unified district brand and to connect Colquitt County’s history, present and future, Wiggins said.

Creating branding guides is not a new practice for educational institutions, he said. Colleges and universities were the first to implement the practice and now public school districts are gravitating towards creating guides along with the rise of social media and partnerships including T-shirts, signage, uniforms, stationary, banners, flags, yearbooks and ceremony programs.

Wiggins said the central office has experienced continuous difficulties when conversing with vendors or businesses for designs. When receiving requests, administration did not have any accessible original artwork files, specific vector file types, alternate logo positioning or color codes for most of the existing logos, especially for the 11 elementary schools.

The branding guide updated logos for all 14 schools and created an individual logo for the Colquitt County School District itself. Wiggins said the logos were announced to all district personnel prior to them being released to any stakeholders and published on the district website on the final day of the school year for all employees and contract personnel Friday, June 30. He recalls that date as the day the district received the final official logo for one of the elementary schools to complete the guide.

One difference in the current branding guide was the color codes. The gold has been shaded darker and lighter over time. Establishing the codes for reference is helpful for whenever someone needs to complete a paint project, publish a graphic online or need it for print uses, Wiggins said.

The cost for the branding has averaged about $3,500 per logo.

School & district logos

“Our elementary schools did not have any official logos that they could use,” Wiggins said. “Now they were using logos, but it was usually things like … an administrator or a teacher would kind of design something. Then it may change over the years with new teachers or new administrators, and so the vendors didn’t have any original artwork files for any logo.”

As the people who created the logo left for other jobs or retirement, the logos were often lost.

The district created committees at each school that together included more than 100 administrators, employees and Parent Teacher Organization members who provided feedback and chose the current designs for each school. The committee members participated in the design process over an 18-month period.

“We just left it up to them to think about their school, [and] the logo that maybe they were currently using because some of them kind of liked what they had kind of been using,” Wiggins said.

Some schools had gradually stopped using their mascot and did not have an official logo, like R.B. Wright Elementary, while others remained consistent and wanted to continue to use their mascot, like Hamilton Elementary School’s Hamilton Hounds.

“It was a long, ongoing process for each school. The elementary schools all have logos that they love and that they’re excited about. Honestly, we’ve heard great feedback on all of our elementary schools,” Wiggins said.

Willie J. Williams Middle School and C.A. Gray Junior High School logos did not undergo much change. The fonts were altered to be consistent with the district’s branding and the signature running hog with the schools’ initials monogrammed on its jersey.

Administrators have received a great deal of feedback with concerns about the Colquitt County High School crest. The crest was designed by Jostens, an American manufacturer of memorabilia, for the high school in the past.

“I think there was some confusion or thoughts that we were replacing or doing away with the high school crest. The CCHS High School crest has not changed and is not changing. That was never even discussed. That was never even a possibility,” Wiggins said. “It’s a beautiful crest. I would argue it is one of the best looking crests in the United States. It’s awesome. It tells a great story of how Colquitt County High School came about.”

The crest will remain visible on the high school’s social media pages, on future diplomas and in the cafeteria, he said.

However, Wiggins also noticed that the district as its own commodity did not have an official logo. In lieu of a logo, the district used three graphics in various places: the high school crest, the bell tower and the words “Colquitt County Schools” with the shadow children with no faces. He said the crest was not designed with the intentions to be used as the district’s logo.

“We decided we needed a district logo, and part of the district logo is we wanted it to tell the story about the Colquitt County School District,” he said.

The proposed district logo had the Swift & Company building on it to represent the naming of the hog mascot. The field represents the county’s agriculture industry, and adjacent to the field is a path of knowledge. The tree located on the lower right side of the logo is a nod to the magnolia tree on the Courthouse Square, the flag represents school spirit and the sun at the top represents creative pursuits. The year that the district began operating, 1873, was placed under the school district name.

“That became the elements of the district logo. Just like the beautiful high school crest we have tells a great story of Colquitt County High School, we wanted one that would tell the story of the school district. Again, just a great way to connect the rich past and heritage of Colquitt County to the present and the future,” Wiggins said.

Athletics

The running hog also had multiple varieties of its logo and no original artwork file. Wiggins contacted Leanne NeSmith, who created the artwork, and she did not have any save file for it. He said it was important for them to maintain that the hog looks the same visually whether it’s a paint job, signage, on a uniform or in the gym. The central office also began receiving requests for a front facing hog, which over time contributed to many variations of the logo.

The branding guide is free to any person or business who might want to use the Packer logos. The district presented a running hog with a blank jersey for any student or extracurricular organization who might want to be known as the Packers and would like to use the hog. The Packer Robotics team was mentioned as an example. Having the blank jersey allows the organizations to put their own logo onto it.

More information on the CCSD branding guide can be found on the district website.