Ithaca College's Visual Identity: A Unified Brand Through Colors and Logos
Ithaca College, a private institution in Ithaca, New York, has a rich history and a commitment to providing diverse programs in media, entertainment, music, theater, and dance. Founded in 1892, the college has evolved over the decades, expanding its curriculum and campus to meet the changing needs of its students. In recent years, Ithaca College has focused on unifying its brand identity, particularly within its athletic programs. This article discusses the college's official colors, logo system, and the efforts to create a cohesive visual identity.
Official Colors: IC Blue and Gold
Ithaca College's core colors are IC blue and IC gold. For most college communications, the campus community should default to IC's primary colors, using IC blue with gold accents. The supporting colors should only be used on items produced by MarCom, with few exceptions. When using supporting colors for high-visibility materials, guidelines are used as a starting point to consider color proportions. The specific audience the college is communicating with is a key factor in determining how the color palette is used. The supporting colors are used in larger proportions to create energy, vibrancy, and boldness, especially in longer pieces such as booklets. Institutional pride and connection are emphasized by using a stronger presence of the core brand colors and the supporting blues. The college uses its primary brand colors with a strong presence of IC blue to reinforce a sense of institutional pride, connection, and familiarity.
To ensure communications are inclusive and legible for everyone, Ithaca College has curated a set of accessible color combinations. These recommended combinations are used for standard body text on color backgrounds. It is important to always test color combinations using accessibility tools like the WebAim Contrast Checker. Certain color combinations are avoided for text as they detract from user experience, reduce readability, and fail to meet accessibility standards and best practices.
The Ithaca College Logo System
To ensure clarity, readability, and visual impact across a variety of applications, Ithaca College's core logo is available in multiple versions optimized for different spaces. By providing variations-such as alternate layouts-the integrity of the brand is maintained across print, digital, and environmental applications.
Primary and Secondary Logos
Ithaca College has one primary logo and one secondary logo. The Ithaca College logo lockup system is used for the college’s official units only. The logo lockups promote the Ithaca College name first and foremost. The next level in the lockup is the official unit responsible for the message or publication. Logo lockups are created for school, department, and program levels only. All official Ithaca College artwork and logo lockups are created by MarCom.
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Logo Usage Guidelines
Whenever possible, the Ithaca College logo should be reproduced in IC blue. The black version is used when color is not an option, and the white version is used when the logo needs to stand out against a dark background. When using the logo over a photograph, it should be placed over an area that provides good contrast and has minimal distracting elements.
The logos should never be altered. Clear space, or the space surrounding the logo, is essential to ensure that the logo is positioned clearly and prominently without interference from other competing elements. No element should ever overlap the logo, and the logo should always be displayed in full. The clear space around the logo is equal to the height of the capital I in Ithaca College. The Ithaca College logo should always be used at a scale that protects the integrity of the mark and ensures clear visibility and reproduction. When possible, the logo should be used larger than the listed minimum width.
What Not to Do
Official logo lockups should not be used. The emblem (shield) should not be used on its own as a logo or visual icon. The emblem may be used when the official Ithaca College logo is also included on the item being created. The logo should be shown in full, and new logos or identifying marks should not be created for schools or divisions. There should be enough clear space around the logo. Logo lockups should not be made or edited, for example, by typing a group name below an Ithaca College logo. Text should not be added to or deleted from the logo. When using the logo against a background photo, it should be made sure that the logo is legible against the photo and that there are no competing or distracting elements in the photo. Elements of the logo should not be cropped or rearranged. If the logo is not legible against the background photo, it should be used in a blue tab or bar. The college seal should not be used in place of the official logos, and logos should not be altered. To maintain consistency of the Ithaca College brand, the logos should never be re-drawn, re-created, stretched, or re-typeset in other fonts.
Athletics Rebrand: Unifying the Teams
Ithaca College Athletics has undergone a rebrand to unify all of its teams under one visual identity. After a year-long process, a committee led by Susan Bassett, director of intercollegiate athletics and recreational sports, presented the new logo. The new logo features the same blue and gold color scheme used by all the college’s teams and features a similar design to the college’s logo. The athletics logo introduces a much sharper and bolder font than the college’s primary logo.
Implementation and Rollout
The new look will be featured on athletic apparel available to students at the Bookstore, but it will simply be one of many apparel designs that can be purchased. A uniform replacement plan is in place where every three years, teams get new uniforms, so that will happen gradually. The college aims to be respectful and thoughtful about how they go forward with that, but if there is a way to expedite it, they’ll certainly try.
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The women’s soccer team, as a result of its uniform cycle, will be the first team to have a completely new uniform for its upcoming season. The football team and its staff sported some of the new apparel at practice. They will also be affected by the rebrand, as their helmets will sport a new font.
Student and Staff Perspectives
The teams want to have a unified department. The real sentiment has been that [the teams] want to have a unified department.
Ithaca College Bombers Colors
The Ithaca College Bombers team colors are White and Navy. The Ithaca College Bombers NCAA team Pantone color is PMS 7436 C for White and PMS 295 C for Navy. The Ithaca College Bombers color HEX code is #FFFFFF for White and #013159 for Navy. The Ithaca College Bombers color RGB code is (255, 255, 255) for White and (1, 49, 89) for Navy. The Ithaca College Bombers color CMYK code is (0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0) for White and (99, 45, 0, 65) for Navy. The White color code for the Ithaca College Bombers logo is Pantone: PMS 7436 C, Hex Color: #FFFFFF, RGB: (255, 255, 255), CMYK: (0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0).
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