Posted on: Wednesday, August 11, 2004

UH panel discussing logo today

By Beverly Creamer
Advertiser Education Writer

By this evening, the University of Hawai'i may be on the brink of having a new logo to "brand" the university internationally.

Or not.

A 15-person Evaluation Committee of faculty, students and community members will make its recommendation to acting UH president David McClain after meeting this afternoon, and then McClain will make it public.

"Our job is to report to the president, so that's what we'll be doing," said committee chair Francis Oda, who also heads the architectural firm Group 70 International.

The six finalist logos under consideration were on the UH Web site for a week and were created by three design firms — Clarence Lee Design & Associates of Honolulu, Sae Design of Maui and Graphic House of Honolulu — chosen in the first phase of the competition.

University spokeswoman Carolyn Tanaka, associate vice president for external affairs and university relations, said as soon as a recommendation is made by the committee, "we'll make it public."

But the committee also has the power to recommend against any of the logos — echoing public opinion that came in via e-mail a week ago rejecting all six candidates by a 49 percent margin, and giving the favorite only 18 percent of the vote.

If that happens, it's unclear what will come next.

"We were asked to participate in a specific procedure and beyond that I don't know," said Oda.

Neither university spokeswoman Tanaka nor chairman Oda wants to speculate on what could occur if the committee doesn't choose any of the designs.

The search for a new logo began more than 18 months ago. A first attempt ended disastrously last spring when the university president scrapped two proposed designs, and the Board of Regents took over responsibility for establishing a new process.

If the committee does recommend a logo, it must then be approved by the UH Board of Regents.

Oda said the committee members have not been discussing their opinions.

"Everyone's been encouraged not to talk about it until we get in the room," he said.

Oda said a formal scoring process will be applied to the six candidates under consideration.

"The way it's set up, any potentially successful logo has to achieve a certain point level," said Oda. "Until we do that we don't know if one or several or any will achieve that. If any one does, then we move forward."

Each of the three design firms that created the finalist logos received $5,000 for their work. The winning firm — if there is a winner — will receive another $5,000.

A new logo will not replace the athletic logos for the Manoa and UH-Hilo teams, and the seal will still be used on diplomas. Rather, a new logo will be used as a marketing tool on everything from recruiting materials to signage.

Reach Beverly Creamer at bcreamer@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8013.