CHICAGO – The Chicago State University athletic department has introduced a series of wordmarks to accompany the existing Cougar logo. The goal of the wordmarks is to standardize the branding of the department.
The CSU athletic department teamed with Phoenix Design Works to create the new athletic marks. Phoenix has produced logos for hundreds of clients, including the athletic departments for fellow Western Athletic Conference members UTPA and Bakersfield.
"The lack of a wordmark for the department was creating inconsistencies from team to team in how we represented ourselves," Chicago State Athletic Director Dan Schumacher said. "The crew at Phoenix Design Works helped us put together a comprehensive package of marks in which we can use on uniforms, apparel, print materials and the web."
The primary wordmark features CHICAGO in large arched collegiate block letters with STATE underneath. The letters are white with a bold green outline. Below is a green banner with COUGARS centered in the middle. On both ends of the banner are stars. Chicagoans will recognize the stars from the City of Chicago flag, giving the wordmark its own unique look and feel that only a school that calls Chicago home could have. The black outline around the mark allows the white lettering to pop out.
The identity package features wordmarks for each team at Chicago State where COUGARS is replaced by basketball, baseball, golf, etc. The arched CHICAGO STATE look can be pulled from the wordmark to stand on it's own and be used on uniforms.
The Cougar head logo is not being replaced and will still be used as the primary logo.
