PVCC Puma Press: April 2006

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	PVCC graphic designer, Tim Farrow's logo wins the contest held on campus, March 2007. The winning logo is only a concept and may be redesigned.
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Dr. Julia Devous, director of Institutional Advancement, has announced that current efforts on the visual identity design project, which includes the search for the new college logo, will be postponed indefinitely due to a strategic decision from college leadership to use the project funds elsewhere.

Enrollment at PVCC has not grown for several years, says Dr. Mary K. Kickels, college president. Therefore, without the growth, strategic budget decisions were made to maintain balanced budgets. Resulting cuts included the logo search.

“We are taking the dollars (from the identity project) and putting them where we feel, at this time, there is a greater need,” says Kickels. That is into marketing that promote the programs, services, courses, certificates and degree programs of the college.

In December 2005, after creating the office of Institutional Advancement, college leadership directed I.A. to continue previous efforts to overhaul the college’s public image, or brand identity. The project also includes the creation of a graphic standards manual; a policy and procedure manual directing the use of the institutional symbols. Devous says I.A. was granted a budget of $33,500 to complete the project.

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	Director of marketing and public relations, Rod Fensom, was named alternate for his graphic design in the logo contest, March 2007.
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In June 2006, the research and development phase of the project began with a brand strategy workshop, conducted by Propeller Communications of Desert Hills, Arizona. This company was paid $7,950 to develop a positioning statement.

According to Devous, a positioning statement is a marketing tool that establishes visual and verbal perceptions that the public associates with any given organization.

The I.A. invited 25 members of the community to participate in the Propeller workshop, including students, alumni, faculty, staff, administrators and community members. Following the workshop, Propeller presented its conclusions to the I.A.

“The workshop resulted in a document, which is now our branding strategy,” says Devous.

Based on the new positioning statement in the report, Propeller recommended several visual elements that will create the desired perception of the college to the public, including school colors, typography and advertising content.

Following the workshop I.A. evaluated several design firms and hired P.S. Studios of Phoenix, Arizona. Additionally, a task force of 16 internal and external campus constituents was formed to work directly with P.S. Studios; providing input and reviewing the company’s proposals.

In March 2007, the task force narrowed down the P.S. Studios’ designs to three. These were displayed on easels in KSC and E buildings to solicit feedback from the campus. According to Devous, the task force considered the feedback and determined that the designs produced by P.S. Studios, at a cost of $10,000, wasn’t going to be acceptable, and the company was dismissed.

The idea to have a campus-wide graphic competition came through an email, says Devous. The task force set up the rules and presented the “Logo Concept Design Contest” April 12-25, 2007; receiving approximately 50 entries.

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P.S. Studios presented three logo concepts to the visual identity task force, March 2007. Negative feedback from the campus community played a role in the decision to dismiss the design firm and have a logo contest.
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Devous says all entries, identified only by a number, were judged by the task force in two rounds. One winner and alternate were named in late May 2007.

The winner was Tim Farrow, a graphic designer working in the I.A. office. The alternate was director of marketing and public relations, Rod Fensom. Devous says Farrow received a $200 Westcor gift card. His graphic design will serve as a starting point and may undergo refinement when the project is revisited, adds Devous.

The visual identity design project has been postponed before, says Fensom.

Mary Scanlon, Ember Design of Phoenix, Arizona, conducted a communications audit for the college in 2003. According to Fensom, Scanlon looked at the public images of each college in the district and compared these to PVCC. She found a large number of variations and inconsistencies in the presentation of the PVCC logo throughout the district.

In her report, Scanlon noted many inconsistencies between college symbols and recommended development of a graphic standard and logo redesign for the college. Fensom says the project did not proceed far before being put on hold in 2004.