Summer/Fall 2009 — Vol. 62, No. 3

by Dave Dryden, Creative Services director, Clemson World executive editor

“DETERMINED SPIRIT” — the shared sense that drives our progress, unites our family, generates our diverse stories and shapes our experience.

The strong Clemson brand just got stronger.

You may have noticed Clemson World’s new look — fresher, bolder, more active and interactive.

The transition is part of the University’s overall new master brand architecture. By “new” we don’t mean radically different. Clemson’s Tiger Paw is already among the best-known collegiate icons in the nation. And we like to think we own the color orange (although a few other schools attempt to claim varying shades).

The Clemson brand goes beyond logos, colors, typography and art.

Brand is the overriding concept of a product or an institution. It tells you what the product’s values are and what it aspires to be. It’s dynamic. It generates both feeling and action.

Clemson’s unifying concept is “determined spirit” — the shared sense that drives our progress, unites our family, generates our diverse stories, shapes our experience. In fact, the very foundation of the University rests on the determination of Thomas Green Clemson and his wife, Anna, to create a high seminary of learning. Determined spirit is in our DNA.

How do we know?

As Clemson has evolved into a major research university, so has our identity. We felt it was the right time to take a good look at what sets the Clemson experience apart — whether it’s something new and different or deeply rooted in our founding.

Once we could answer that, we could refresh and refine our visual identity and the way we tell the Clemson story to reflect the heart of the Clemson brand.

Refreshing an image, especially one that’s long been valued, takes time and research. We began by partnering with education marketing firm EM2.

The process also involved study of peer schools with strong master brands and extensive interviews with alumni, students, faculty and staff, parents and community members.

We learned a lot. What we heard over and over was that the University’s most valued attributes are the Clemson family, winning spirit, tradition and history, academic quality, making a difference, determination to succeed and bold thinking.

The research kept our design team focused while we refined and unified different elements of the brand identity. The result is a new master brand architecture that incorporates the familiar with some fresh elements. Our overriding goal was and continues to be telling the Clemson story accurately and consistently.

For more information on Clemson’s new master brand architecture, go to www.clemson.edu/guidelines or contact Dave Dryden at drydend@clemson.edu or (864) 656-2469.