St. Joe’s is adding a dab of teal and gold to the traditional university colors. As part of their larger rebrand, the university is introducing “Felix teal” and “Loyola gold.”
St. Joe’s incorporated the two new colors on the university’s website as accents for the classic crimson and gray as part of a website redesign plan unveiled and implemented last semester.
The rebranding team drew inspiration from the university’s crest and pulled colors from two of the different quadrants according to Ryan Starr, creative director for the Office of Marketing and Communications.
“The rebrand process has really been diving into our history and finding places to find inspiration,” Starr said.
Loyola gold pulls from the upper left quadrant of the crest, which displays “seven bands that represent Saint Ignatius and his seven brothers,” Starr said.
The name “Felix teal” is a reference to Felix Barbelin, S.J., founder and the first president of St. Joe’s in 1852; the color is an amalgamation of the blues and teals from the bottom left quadrant of the crest, according to Starr.
The gold and teal will accent the crimson and gray, while expanding the color palette of the university, Starr said.
“We are using [the new colors] sparingly and where it’s appropriate,” Starr said. “Let’s put it this way: you will not be driving down City Ave. seeing gold and teal banners.
Colleen Sabatino, director of marketing, emphasized the commitment to the university’s traditional colors.
“[Our] team did extensive research to make sure that any secondary colors that were added were relevant to the university and uplifted the crimson and gray, instead of taking away from them,” Sabatino said.
According to Sabatino, the rebranding plan coincided with the need to update sju.edu, which made the website a clear choice to introduce new design elements.
“[We] didn’t want to roll out a website that didn’t match the direction of the brand,” Sabatino said. “The decision was made to use the website to slowly introduce the brand aspects.”
Campus feedback served as an influence in the direction of the university’s brand, according to Sabatino.
Representatives from the Office of the President, the Office of Student Life, the Office of Graduate Admissions and the Office of Undergraduate Admissions made up a committee that offered feedback, said Sabatino.
“We really wanted to connect with all of the different people and audiences and areas of campus and think of all the different ways the brand would need to be expressed,” said Sabatino.
Maureen Mathis, director of Undergraduate Admissions, served as a member of the advisory committee for the rebranding process. The committee reviewed the design concepts and brand recommendations and provided feedback. The redesign needed to be a combination of storytelling and disseminating basic information, according to Mathis.
“We want the design to be authentic to what the students experience [at St. Joe’s],” Mathis said.
Working with students, faculty and staff provided the rebranding team with valuable insights, Starr said.
“It’s been great to get that feedback and know that what we are doing does resonate with people,” Starr said.
Originally, the full rebranding plan was set to be released to the campus community this month, with outside markets following in the summer. But the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted those plans.
“Given the current situation, we are having to change that up quite a bit,” Gail Benner, director of PR and media, wrote in an email to The Hawk. “We are not going to hold the new brand, so the community will start to see elements. In particular, we’re using it to boost morale and build community… We are looking forward to accelerating this effort on-campus in the fall.”
