GALESBURG — As a new semester gets underway, Sandburg students will be met with a new look but the same endless opportunities.
Sandburg recently went through a college-wide brand revitalization, which includes refreshed logos for the college and its athletic programs.
The college’s new primary logo showcases the silhouette of a charging horse with “SANDBURG” in deep red underneath to bridge the perceived student gap between academics and athletics, creating a more inclusive identity for the entire Sandburg community. The new athletics logo purposely closely resembles the new primary logo for the college for continuity and unity among Sandburg’s campus community.
Also among the brand makeover is a simplified way to refer to the college. The preferred use is now “Sandburg” instead of “Carl Sandburg,” “Carl Sandburg College” or the antiquated “CSC.” While Carl Sandburg College remains the institution’s official name, the idea behind the change was to make the college’s brand more distinct and recognizable while referring to the college with already-used vernacular.
Sandburg partnered with Surface 51 to lead the brand revitalization. The Champaign-based company collaborated with Sandburg Marketing and led in-depth focus groups to gather input from students, administration and faculty as it developed the new brand. Surface 51 also is in the process of assisting with a redesigned version of the college’s website, sandburg.edu.
“We wanted to truly embrace the viewpoints and insights from students, staff and the community at large regarding the Sandburg brand,” said Laura Nagel, executive director of marketing at Sandburg. “The focus groups clearly showed a disconnect between the academic and athletic aspects of the college, and the new brand and more casual style and tone used throughout our branding better integrate and unite academics and athletics under one name: Sandburg. We’re excited to unveil our new website as well, which will showcase this new look with the same great opportunities Sandburg has provided students for more than 50 years.”
Students and community members can expect to see the new branding materials put in place on as the rollout continues.
