Heather Mangan

The SDSU community may be able to vote on a new Jackrabbit design as early as next week, Jackrabbit mascot redesign committee members said.

The committee held a teleconference April 23 with representatives from Phoenix Design Works, the New York City firm hired to redesign SDSU’s mascot, said Jenny Crickard, the committee’s liaison to the firm. The committee gave feedback on the firm’s latest designs, as well as giving ideas using different logos and mascots, said committee member Kat Brandtjen.

The committee plans to narrow the search to three styles of jackrabbits – traditional, stylized and abstract – for the public to vote on. Brandtjen said that although the committee gave a few minor suggestions, it has pretty solid designs for the traditional and stylized rabbits. She said the focus is now on the abstract design.

The Collegian printed a version of the rabbit Jan. 31 that committee members said was close to the final product. Many students and alumni responded negatively to the realistic-looking design and several wrote letters to the editor. Brandtjen, who was uncomfortable about that design, is happier with what she has seen recently.

“I feel a lot better about the process and the direction the committee is going with it,” she said. “The logos we have seen are vast improvements over what was out two months ago. They are much better-working models than the previous rabbit.

“I am more pleased, but I am still holding out that we’ll see something that will pop. I hope we are going to something exciting out of the abstract rabbit.”

Students’ Association President Alex Brown, who was also not impressed with the first realistic design, is more comfortable with the latest designs.

“It gives students a real chance to look at different styles … [and] to form their own opinions,” he said.

Once the committee has one design they like from each category, they will put them on a Web site and allow the public to vote and leave comments on the designs, Crickard said.

“We hope to get new designs by the end of the week or first part of next,” she said. “If everything is right on target, we may be able to put them up on the Web site the next day.”

Brandtjen said the committee would like to finish the project before the end of the school year in order to get more student input, but she doesn’t think it is a feasible goal.

“I don’t really see this wrapping up by end the year,” she said. “It may go into the fall.”

The committee will work into the summer, Crickard said.

The mascot committee formed last fall and has met three times since February. Each meeting the committee will go through the recent designs, give feedback to the firm and narrowr in on certain features.

Crickard said the committee is still fairly confident in the design committee even though it has been hard for them to grasp what a jackrabbit is. She said it’s a rocky transition from what one person thinks to what one hears.

Brandtjen said the firm has the track record to produce good results.

“They’ve got the breadth of experience to do good work. I hope we get the same sort of result,” she said.

Brown said the teleconference was productive because the committee could directly communicate with the firm.

“I think it is going to help gauge on their actions,” said Brown.

Crickard said the committee is more concerned with finding a design than an official font. She said once the committee has found a design that can be used in parts, it will focus on a font.