New Jackrabbit logo needs another look

staff

Editorial Board

The issue:A version of the new Jackrabbit logo is public. But the logo committee didn’t want it released in the media. Either way, the reaction to the new bunny isn’t all positive.

Our view:The committee bungled its job by not doing more to get solid advice and measured feedback from the university community. The committee risks picking the wrong rabbit. But there’s still time.

It’s a new jackrabbit logo for SDSU – an initial glance at what it might look like, anyway.

You might love it or hate it. Nobody expected that the logo would please everyone. Or that the New York design firm would score a winner on first pass.

But the problem isn’t the new look.

The problem is that the committee in charge of the new design bungled their job. Early on, they promised focus groups and polls. None of those happened. Will the new bunny work on a wide range of things to sell? Nobody knows.

“I think the design firm ignored a lot of student input,” said Students’ Association Senator Alex Brown.

That’s wrong. A wide range of good honest input was critical. An organized effort to gather those opinions would’ve gone far to guarantee more love for the new bunny. That didn’t happen.

The unveiling will happen later this semester, we’re told. And we grieve to think that our showing of a new rabbit might spoil that fun. But by their mess of a design selection, the committee left us no choice.

There’s no doubt that the folks on the committee care deeply about the new logo. It’s theirs as much as it’s ours. Now it’s time for them to step up and do this right.

So, what should the logo committee do now?

First: Let the home team give you some good advice. The SDSU community is dotted with pros in printing, marketing and graphic design

Second: Consider the other guys. What happened to the local firm that showed up early with some designs? Maybe those are exactly the options we need now.

There’s still time. To ignore voices of dissent now would be to miss what could possibly be the last chance to make things right.

This logo is vastly important to us all. It represents our pride, our spirit and our history.

Listen more and decide less. It might take longer, but we think we can all be reasonable.

We want a Jackrabbit of which we can all be proud. This is not it.