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James Madison University | Official Athletics Site
JMU Athletics Launches Enhanced Visual Identity Package
1/4/2017 9:28:00 AM | General, Communications, Administration
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Charting a new course for the overall branding and visual identity of James Madison Athletics, Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne on Wednesday unveiled a refreshed visual identity package, which includes an improved primary logo with the JMU block, official "James Madison" and "Dukes" wordmarks and official number set and font as well as a full style guide to regulate proper use of all marks.
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Expanded view of the new JMU Athletics logos and marks
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"The overall branding, name recognition and impact of JMU Athletics has never been stronger," Bourne said. "While we do sit in a position of strength, we identified opportunities to build on that strength to establish an even better foundation for our visual identity. This was an important initiative of our strategic plan – Engaged in Excellence – to improve the brand of the JMU Dukes nationally and enlarge our footprint. The timing is perfect as we prepare to compete for the NCAA Division I Football Championship in a few days in Frisco."
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The identity launch is the result of 15 months of exploration and development in consultation with national firm Joe Bosack & Co., whose major branding projects have included the NCAA's recent rebranding, which encompasses all of the association's championships in all sports across all three divisions.
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"We are thrilled to be working with JMU on updating its unique athletics brand", said Joe Bosack, owner and creative director. "These changes and additions provide a distinctive and athletic presentation of the Dukes, and reflect the aspirations of today's teams, student-athletes and the overall program."
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JMU established the previous "JMU block" logo, formerly a secondary mark, as its primary athletics mark in 2014. The 2017 branding project strengthens that primary mark by cleaning up highlight lines and lack of uniformity throughout the logo, resulting in a more collegial and streamlined appearance. The new mark also remedies challenges in reproduction, particularly in embroidery.
Â
While the JMU block is the most visible element representing athletics, a major initiative of the project was to build a more robust branding package. New wordmark elements were added to feature "James Madison" and "Dukes" in multiple formats. The wordmarks carry over into further iterations with team-specific logos utilizing the new official JMU Athletics font, Forza Black Italic. The final element of the work with Joe Bosack & Co. was a full style guide, which will provide better clarify to all users of the marks. The guide details how each mark can be used in various formats, for what purposes and on which background colors.
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The entire branding project was spearheaded by JMU Assistant A.D. for Communications Kevin Warner and co-chaired by Deputy A.D. Geoff Polglase. Much of the legwork was completed by a branding committee consisting of Assistant A.D. for Major Gifts Bryan Allen, Assistant A.D. for Ticketing & Customer Relations Michael Carpenter, Director of Marketing Taylor Dewey, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications Jason Krech, Director of Donor Administration Liz Menne, Director of Equipment Services Chris Ouren and Assistant Director of Strategic Communications Michael Prior.
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"Our visual brand is such a powerful piece in telling the story of the student-athlete experience at JMU," Warner said. "There were challenges and roadblocks to our success with the previous marks. This project sets the stage for our future growth. It draws consistency across all of our sport programs and establishes a brand that we believe will be identifiable across the nation. It was important to us to have this work completed in time to compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship and to move into a new year in 2017. With consideration of timing for the game, there will still be a few visual elements to be released in the next few weeks."
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About James Madison Athletics
James Madison University is a NCAA Division I institution located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Nicknamed the Dukes, JMU sponsors 18 sports, six male and 12 female, with approximately 450 student-athletes and an overall student enrollment of 21,227. The Dukes are part of the Colonial Athletic Association, whose conference footprint of full-time membership covers the East Coast spanning from South Carolina to Massachusetts.
Â
About Joe Bosack & Co.
Joe Bosack & Co., is a national brand strategy and design consulting firm that has developed compelling identities for nearly 100 collegiate clients, including the recent redesign of the NCAA Championships system for all 90 championships across 24Â sports and three divisions.Â
Â
Â
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Â
Expanded view of the new JMU Athletics logos and marks
Â
Â
"The overall branding, name recognition and impact of JMU Athletics has never been stronger," Bourne said. "While we do sit in a position of strength, we identified opportunities to build on that strength to establish an even better foundation for our visual identity. This was an important initiative of our strategic plan – Engaged in Excellence – to improve the brand of the JMU Dukes nationally and enlarge our footprint. The timing is perfect as we prepare to compete for the NCAA Division I Football Championship in a few days in Frisco."
Â
The identity launch is the result of 15 months of exploration and development in consultation with national firm Joe Bosack & Co., whose major branding projects have included the NCAA's recent rebranding, which encompasses all of the association's championships in all sports across all three divisions.
Â
"We are thrilled to be working with JMU on updating its unique athletics brand", said Joe Bosack, owner and creative director. "These changes and additions provide a distinctive and athletic presentation of the Dukes, and reflect the aspirations of today's teams, student-athletes and the overall program."
Â
JMU established the previous "JMU block" logo, formerly a secondary mark, as its primary athletics mark in 2014. The 2017 branding project strengthens that primary mark by cleaning up highlight lines and lack of uniformity throughout the logo, resulting in a more collegial and streamlined appearance. The new mark also remedies challenges in reproduction, particularly in embroidery.
Â
While the JMU block is the most visible element representing athletics, a major initiative of the project was to build a more robust branding package. New wordmark elements were added to feature "James Madison" and "Dukes" in multiple formats. The wordmarks carry over into further iterations with team-specific logos utilizing the new official JMU Athletics font, Forza Black Italic. The final element of the work with Joe Bosack & Co. was a full style guide, which will provide better clarify to all users of the marks. The guide details how each mark can be used in various formats, for what purposes and on which background colors.
Â
The entire branding project was spearheaded by JMU Assistant A.D. for Communications Kevin Warner and co-chaired by Deputy A.D. Geoff Polglase. Much of the legwork was completed by a branding committee consisting of Assistant A.D. for Major Gifts Bryan Allen, Assistant A.D. for Ticketing & Customer Relations Michael Carpenter, Director of Marketing Taylor Dewey, Assistant Director of Athletics Communications Jason Krech, Director of Donor Administration Liz Menne, Director of Equipment Services Chris Ouren and Assistant Director of Strategic Communications Michael Prior.
Â
"Our visual brand is such a powerful piece in telling the story of the student-athlete experience at JMU," Warner said. "There were challenges and roadblocks to our success with the previous marks. This project sets the stage for our future growth. It draws consistency across all of our sport programs and establishes a brand that we believe will be identifiable across the nation. It was important to us to have this work completed in time to compete in the NCAA Division I Football Championship and to move into a new year in 2017. With consideration of timing for the game, there will still be a few visual elements to be released in the next few weeks."
Â
Â
About James Madison Athletics
James Madison University is a NCAA Division I institution located in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Nicknamed the Dukes, JMU sponsors 18 sports, six male and 12 female, with approximately 450 student-athletes and an overall student enrollment of 21,227. The Dukes are part of the Colonial Athletic Association, whose conference footprint of full-time membership covers the East Coast spanning from South Carolina to Massachusetts.
Â
About Joe Bosack & Co.
Joe Bosack & Co., is a national brand strategy and design consulting firm that has developed compelling identities for nearly 100 collegiate clients, including the recent redesign of the NCAA Championships system for all 90 championships across 24Â sports and three divisions.Â
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