Mason Patriots (GMU) University Athletics Rebrand Proposal — ©2015 ianbakar.com

REBRANDING

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© 2015 | ianbakar.com | Rebranding George Mason Athletics

PATRIOT PRIDE My alma-matter, graduating class of 2014. I particularly loved Mason basketball; my freshmen year was the Cinderella-story trip to the Final Four, in 2006. Unforgettable. The current look, adopted in 2004, is passable for now, but as an ever-growing university presence in America, Mason Nation is certainly due for a refreshed athletic aesthetic, leading into a new era of Patriot Pride across its applauded sports programs.

Wikipedia gives us a quick breakdown of Mason athletics: The George Mason Patriots are the athletic teams of George Mason University located in Fairfax, Virginia. The Patriots compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference for most sports. About 485 student-athletes compete in 22 men’s and women’s Division I sports – baseball, basketball, cross-country, golf, lacrosse, rowing, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, indoor and outdoor track and field, volleyball, and wrestling. Intercollegiate men’s and women’s teams are members of the National Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I, the Atlantic 10, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA), the Eastern Wrestling League (EWL), and the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (IC4A).

© 2015 | ianbakar.com | Rebranding George Mason Athletics

MASON’S CURRENT LOOK The official brand guide reads:

The athletics logo was redesigned in 2004 to better reflect the speed, strength, excitement, and energy of George Mason athletics.

The goal of the logo redesign was to maintain the brand identity that has been built over the years and to update and refresh the logo to show growth. The new logo, unlike the old one, includes the word “Mason,” making the school name the primary identifier to ensure immediate recognition.”

The primary logo, a shooting star over ‘Mason’, isn’t as well as it could be. The usage of black is also black for black’s sake, and arbitrary with the green and gold. The gold also has an orangeish tone to it. They’ve been making it work, but at this point, the look is in need of more cohesiveness.

The brand itself doesn’t have much to work with but the star, and there’s a bunch of extensions. There is the Patriot mascot, and Mason baseball’s rarely-used interlocking ‘GM.’ The “We Are Mason” campaign is fairly recent, and is also an extension of the primary logo. There’s also Patriot Platoon, and Mason Nation.

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LOGOS

REBRANDING

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© 2015 | ianbakar.com | Rebranding George Mason Athletics

(A NEW) PATRIOT PRIDE

By George!

THE PRIMARY LOGO A determined, focused, confident, strong, youthful and charismatic representation of a patriot, George Mason. Mason prepared the first draft of the Declaration of Rights in 1776, and was born in what is present-day Fairfax County. Presented in traditional minuteman dress, with a 3-point hat, and waving a flag that represents victory. This flag combines nuances of past logos. A flag element was the central focus of branding prior to 2004, and the ‘shooting star’ translates here onto the flag. An ‘M’ is emblazoned to its front.

The typography and primary wordmark here becomes more fluid, cleaner, engaging and less forced. It has a more serious, but still college-appropriate undertone.

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© 2015 | ianbakar.com | Rebranding George Mason Athletics

BASKETBALL

PRIMARY LOGO APPLICATIONS b t a ss e b a l l pat r i o pat r i o t s

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INSTANCES OF THE PRIMARY LOGO TOP ROW: Simple copy changes here, on the left, adding in ‘GEORGE’ before “MASON” for a more complete name. The right swaps out ‘PATRIOTS’ for ‘ATHLETICS.’ BOTTOM ROW: The left is the partial logo, without any wordmark.

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The right shows instances of the copy changing, displaying the different athletic programs, with three shown here.

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BASKETBALL BASKETBALL

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© 2015 | ianbakar.com | Rebranding George Mason Athletics

SECONDARY LOGos EXTENSIONS A university-initial ‘GMU’ logo appears for the first time in Mason athletics history. The patriot head sits above the letters, with the Mason star bridging between the M and the patriot. His cap also adorns an ‘M,’ still confirming ‘Mason’ as the primary moniker.

The next image is solely the patriot’s head, with out the GMU text.

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The middle left shows an iteration without the patriot, and solely the victory flag, with the M and star emblazoned on it. Same wordmark from the primary. Middle right is the M-star from the flag.

The last secondary is an interlocking GM, which would be used primarily for Mason baseball and softball.

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ETBALL

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ENGAGEMENT

REBRANDING

G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y AT H L E T I C S © 2015 | ianbakar.com

Š 2015 | ianbakar.com | Rebranding George Mason Athletics

SEASON CAMPAIGNS WE ARE MASON...

These are the war cries, the rally chants and the slogans throughout the different seasons of different teams at George Mason. They put excitement into the fans, students and players. They also become hashtags and a primary force in social media presence.

THE PLATOON...

The Patriot Platoon members attend Mason basketball games and earn exclusive opportunities and deals, amongst other extracurricular activities. It’s a VIP club of sorts.

Š 2015 | ianbakar.com | Rebranding George Mason Athletics

GREEN AND GOLD GEAR

Š 2015 | ianbakar.com | Rebranding George Mason Athletics

GREEN AND GOLD GEAR

REBRANDING

G E O R G E M A S O N U N I V E R S I T Y AT H L E T I C S

Š 2015 | ianbakar.com | ibakar01@gmail.com