4th Best Logo in College Sports

According to Athlon Sports, BYU has the fourth best/recognizable logo in college sports:



http://athlonsports.com/college-football/college-footballs-best-and-worst-logos-2013" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Recognizable? sure.

Best? nah. there's some work to be done.

BroncoBot wrote:
Recognizable? sure.

Best? nah. there's some work to be done.

Such as?

hawkwing wrote:

Recognizable? sure.

Best? nah. there's some work to be done.

Such as?

Don't get me wrong, the stretch "Y" is OK. But it doesn't strike me as 4th best in the country. It says to me "hey I'm trying to be cool in a cartoonish kind of way". Good enough to get the job done, not enough endurance to withstand the test of time.



As far as how to improve??? I don't know. I'm no designer and I don't pretend to be.

You watched too much TV growing up. ;-)

Cougs_Rule wrote:
You watched too much TV growing up. ;-)

Ha ha. You've got it backwards. I wasn't allowed to watch TV growing up. :D Except BYU sports, of course.

BroncoBot wrote:
Good enough to get the job done, not enough endurance to withstand the test of time.

So hanging around since 1966 isn't good enough for "the test of time"?



Georgia's logo only appear 2 years earlier, the Longhorn 3 years earlier, and the Clemson paw didn't appear until 1970.

BroncoBot wrote:

BroncoBot wrote:
Recognizable? sure.

Best? nah. there's some work to be done.

Such as?

Don't get me wrong, the stretch "Y" is OK. But it doesn't strike me as 4th best in the country. It says to me "hey I'm trying to be cool in a cartoonish kind of way". Good enough to get the job done, not enough endurance to withstand the test of time.



As far as how to improve??? I don't know. I'm no designer and I don't pretend to be.

I think that's an interesting take on it, which others on the list appear cartoonish to you? Speaking of the "best" not the worst.

BroncoBot wrote:

It says to me "hey I'm trying to be cool in a cartoonish kind of way".

Did you look at the right logo? We're talking about BYU, not Kansas.

I love it when people say, "That sucks - but I don't know how to make it better." :roll:

snoscythe wrote:

Good enough to get the job done, not enough endurance to withstand the test of time.

So hanging around since 1966 isn't good enough for "the test of time"?



Georgia's logo only appear 2 years earlier, the Longhorn 3 years earlier, and the Clemson paw didn't appear until 1970.

Georgia's reeks of green bay (or vice versa).

Longhorns is certainly recognizable and not shabby.

clemson paw, pretty generic based off all the paws I see everywhere.



Sno, you have any evidence for the 1966 stretch Y helmet? I see 1978. Still, longer than I have been around and a lot long than I remember it being there. So maybe there is some enduring property to the image. I would personally prefer something else.



BUT I don't care if BYU went back to the bibs, I'd still cheer for them.

BroncoBot wrote:
Sno, you have any evidence for the 1966 stretch Y helmet?

http://byucougars.com/athletics/evolution-byu-football-helmet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

snoscythe wrote:

Sno, you have any evidence for the 1966 stretch Y helmet?

http://byucougars.com/athletics/evolution-byu-football-helmet" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I saw that as well and found it ambiguous.



http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

this has the year 1978 as the starting point for the current stretch Y logo. Like I said earlier, it's been around longer than I previously thought.

redneckjedi wrote:
I love it when people say, "That sucks - but I don't know how to make it better." :roll:

Nope, never said it sucks. I'll try to improve it, but it will take about 2-3 years of using microsoft paint before I get back to you on that.....



1955-1962 helmets were pretty slick.

Helmet Project clearly has the Oval Y on the helmet starting in 1966. The font of the Y may have changed since then, but in essence the Oval Y has been BYU's logo for nearly 50 years.

SpiffCoug wrote:
Helmet Project clearly has the Oval Y on the helmet starting in 1966. The font of the Y may have changed since then, but in essence the Oval Y has been BYU's logo for nearly 50 years.

Yes, but it isn't the "oval" that I take issue with. Just the font of the Y. So '78 vs '66 is a big difference.

But the two Y's really aren't that big of a difference.

If you showed these to logos to the same people, I bet they would assume they were the same brand, same company.

http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/BYU_OLD4.gif" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/BYU.gif" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/BYU_OLD13.gif" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

The correct term is typeface, as "font" refers to the entire collection of designed letters, numbers, etc. One of my graphic design teachers at BYU had a problem with the Y when Bronco introduced it again, but I disagree with his reasoning---he disliked the spacing of the serifs with respect to the oval, and the use of a wider stroke on the left of the Y instead of the right. I can see why he saw these as awkward choices, but I also disagree because the intent of the logo isn't modern refinement. It's about calling back to an earlier tradition of design, but going for something that could be both classic and a solid at the same time. And I think those slightly awkward elements add character---getting the spacing and stroking just right would make it too standard.

SpiffCoug wrote:
But the two Y's really aren't that big of a difference.

If you showed these to logos to the same people, I bet they would assume they were the same brand, same company.

http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/BYU_OLD4.gif" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/BYU.gif" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

http://www.nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/BYU_OLD13.gif" alt="" loading="lazy" style="max-width:100%">

Point taken. And even I wouldn't have recognize the difference until about 2 years ago. I had cut out a "Y" from a sticker and stuck in on my car. Without the oval, the Y looks even more odd. The wider left arm and skinnier right arm are more obvious, as are the serifs at the top of the Y (I think they are serifs). Anyway, from that point on I have noticed it and have always thought there could be a better Y typeface (thanks Sammich).

So really, it's just more difficult to cut out than a symmetrical Y, and that upset you ;)