ASICPP Rebrand - Case Study

Associated Students Inc, Cal Poly Pomona (ASICPP) is a non-profit corporation and auxiliary to Cal Poly Pomona that is made up of more than 80% student employees. ASICPP amplifies the student voice by activating vital student programs and services in an effort to create the conditions for community and self-fulfillment. Whether students connect with ASICPP through employment, services, programs, or Student Government, their college experience is enhanced!

This is a brief case study of ASICPP’s 2020 rebrand.

In all my research, I never found any written documentation of when this version of our logo was created, but I did find photographic documentation as far back as 1991. It was buried in an old dusty book full of newspaper clippings that nobody claimed was theirs.

A lot led up to the point where we put pencil to paper on this rebrand. All in all, it took 28 years, an abruptly halted redesign back in 2013, a new executive director, and a new ASICPP president. There was a light at the end of the tunnel in 2019 when pencil hit paper and the magic began. Of course, there was the caveat that if people didn’t like what we came up with then the whole thing would be scrapped. I wasn’t feeling pressure at all (*nervous laugh*)!

The oooooold logo

Once we were ready to put everything to the test, I led a presentation of the new logo to an audience of 500 employees alongside our designer, Nikki Young, and our ASICPP president, Pasindu Senaratne.

Our objectives for the new logo:

Update the logo (duh)
A lot had happened since our last logo was created back in 1991: our University Union was expanded and became the Bronco Student Center (BSC); the Bronco Recreation and Intramural Complex (BRIC) was erected and doubled our workforce; and the cultural shift of social media had redefined how we interact with each other. As we began discussing the need for a refreshed logo and analyzing our current logo, we realized that this mark no longer represented who we were as an organization. We’d come a long way in the last 28 years as an organization both structurally and culturally.
Align our brand more closely with the university’s recent rebrand
Over the past 28 years, our brand had attempted to stand on its own within the Cal Poly Pomona sphere. Because the university had rebranded just a year prior, we took this as an opportunity to more closely align ourselves with them. We no longer felt the need to isolate ourselves, but instead, wanted to embrace our connection to such a great university brand.
Eliminate the reproduction issues with the previous logo
While our previous logo had some strong visual elements, it came with some frustrating faults. In particular, the fine print surrounding the logo became very difficult to work with when reproducing on merchandise. This and other issues had forced us to create various iterations of the logo. This caused a great deal of inconsistency and frustration in knowing when to use one or the other.

Once design was given the green light, we gathered a group of student graphic designers from our Marketing, Design, and Public Relations (MDPR) department. This project was volunteer-based so those who participated added substantially to their regular workload. We had an excellent team that created well over 200 concepts and designs. After a year and a half of talking, designing, scratching everything, redesigning, talking some more, and a few gallons of blood, sweat, and tears, one design rose to the top.

Lynette and Nikki Hard at Work | Photo Credit: MDPR Photography Team

Nikki Young was our main designer on this project before they graduated. We invited them back to present to our audience and to share what they put into their design. Their words really resonate with me. Purpose is a driving force behind what makes a great design. Below is a 50-second clip from our presentation where Nikki talks about their purpose-driven design.

Video Credits: Jasmine Flores, Jocsan Valdes, and Matt Girgis

I wanted to do something with this logo that we could have never done with our previous one. By allowing the new logo to act as a canvas, I knew we would be able to inject a sense of excitement and energy into our merchandise. I also knew it would resonate with our department coordinators and student employees because it opens the door for them to make the logo their own. Below is a 25-second clip where I talk about how the new logo will function as unique design pieces for individual departments.

Video Credits: Jasmine Flores, Jocsan Valdes, and Matt Girgis

This new approach opened up a whole new way for us to market our events and create merchandise while paving the way for the development of our brand identity (more on that in a later case study).

Illustration by Summer Furzer

Poster Design and Illustration by Summer Furzer

Sticker Designs: Stephanie Amaya, Justin Hong, Eric Lee, Matt Marra, Andrew Phan, and Darleen Ralota | Photo Credit: Andrew Phan

Using our new approach to the logo, I illustrated a collection of succulents that was printed onto face masks. These were sent out to each of ASICPP’s 500+ employees. For more details on this illustration, you can go here.

We launched our new logo to the company and the university in February of 2020. One month later, the world shut down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This completely altered our plans to fully rollout the logo and to build out our identity. During the shutdown ASICPP, like so many other organizations, has undergone a significant reorganization and restructuring of both systems and culture. What it’s doing for our brand is getting us to all understand our identity better than ever before. We’re at a point now where we are beginning to take what was started with this new logo and expand on it in a significant way. Needless to say, I cannot wait!