San Marcos High School Football Rules!
Kristina Schroeder
I have a logo story to share from my glory days – long before I had any understanding of good design or how to recognize it. Ready? Here goes.
When I was in high school, my lovely principal decided to give our school a little makeover, complete with a new logo. I was the student representative appointed to the committee that approved the design, and I was really disgusted at the ideas that were brought to us. I thought the new logo they ended up choosing was incredibly ugly. It looked like a bird to me instead of a knight.
Anyway – being the outspoken and obnoxious 16 year old I then was, I told the designer that he was terrible and his designs were hideous. He exploded into a huge tirade on how I insulted his creative genius and didn’t understand a thing about logo design, and my opinions were quickly swept under the rug. They went with the ugly bird logo, which is still plastered all over the high school today.
Here she is, the logo for San Marcos High Knights:
So now I’m curious. Is the logo really as ugly as I originally thought?
The next part of this blog was supposed to be a new analysis of the logo using my newfound knowledge about design. I wanted to be an adult and recognize the mistakes in my previous immature judgments.
But I can’t do it. I can’t get past how hideous I think it is. Maybe it’s the stubborn 16 year old inside of me or maybe I just have a brain block when it comes to this stuff. Either way…
All I see is a bird.
May 4th, 2007
Well, I don’t think it’s that ugly, but it’s not the that great either. I’m not yet a graphic designer, but I have some understanding of logo design, so I think the helmet doesn’t look much like a bird, maybe it’s because of the profile view and those swooshes around it but I think this part is not bad at all. Maybe it’s just the conditioned interpretations of symbols that makes us look at those things differently but I don’t know.
I also like the colors which are chosen here, it has a “royality” feel to it, but I think the lower part could be done much better.
May 4th, 2007
I have to say that i’m not turned of by the helmet part of the logo. Kind of a new edgy twist on a classic topic. It has a nice sporty feel to it. However, I do not like the text portion at all. I can see why the font was chosen, but you’ve got a mid-evil style of font with a modern flashy knight helmet. The text doesn’t coincide at all with the graphic. Maybe taking the basic concept of the text, or a few of the lettering elements and then treat them like helmet was. Add some sharp slashy elements, and try to incorporate it more with the helmet. Not really a high end product in my opinion.
May 4th, 2007
i like the icon itself very much. Simple, clean, with movement. I hate the text. I dont see a bird in this at all.
May 6th, 2007
Without looking at a style guide, my initial opinion is that the graphic element isn’t properly balanced with the text.
This creates a jarring effect rather than pleasing sense of movement.
The font neither matches (the curves of the letter differ from curves of the helmet) nor contrasts the graphic element leading to the “kinda, sorta but not really” feel.
“San Marcos” inherently carries more weight than “Knights” because it has more letters and takes up more space.
Therefore, making “Knights” darker is unnecessary and causes “Knights” to get lost because it is at the bottom of the logo.
Lastly, please don’t sweat the “bird”.
If a committee consisting of government workers and a high school “student representative” were to approve anything decent it would upset the order of the universe.
May 9th, 2007
To me, at a quick glance it could be a bird. A little longer glance, it looks like a fire helmet (with the extended back part). Only after deliberately looking at it does the knight’s helmet show through. It also looks heavy on the right side (even though it appears to be centered).
May 14th, 2007
Hey there Kristina! I work a few blocks away from this high school in San Marcos and I have a few friends who went there too. The new logo you made is awesome. I haven’t really paid too much attention to their last logo but if it has a bird on it, then it really doesn’t make sense if you are supposed to be a ‘Knight’! heh, great work.
August 3rd, 2007
I actually like the logo! I thought it was clean and well balanced. The text is an incredibly bad fit (and that term I use very loosely). It is completely incohesive with the design. It is blocky, hard to read and has NOTHING to do with the logo except for a medeival feel to it.
December 26th, 2007
Hi, my name’s Bingo.
I like to climb on things. Give me a banana!
Eek Eek.
April 9th, 2008
it looks like a cylon raider
May 12th, 2008
I’m the designer who created this logo, and was quite shocked to see that it’s garnered so much interest. If you’ll allow me, I’d like to respond to some of the comments.
Kristina, obviously this logo is something that really bothers you. I’m sorry this has had such a traumatic effect on you to be writing a blog about it years later. I appreciate your opinion. What I don’t appreciate is the fabrication and exaggeration of our meeting. You were brought in with a group of students and administrators as a courtesy to show you the direction of where we were heading with the logo. I remember your comment about thinking it looked like a bird and that I thanked you for your opinion and calmly explained that there would certainly be some others who didn’t like it for one reason or another, but that our goal was to create a logo that would ultimately help with school spirit and morale, and that hopefully most would like. At no point did you say I was terrible and that the design was hideous. This I would remember. At no point did I explode into a tirade or insult you. This would be a foolish business idea and I would surely be thrown off campus and fired from the project if I ever did that in front of ANY client. You make me sound like an egotistical monster. Shame on you. Those who that were there or who know me, know what I’m talking about. That’s not my style. You really could have set up this blog without the lie and achieved the same result.
For the rest of you, thank you for your comments. Looks like some liked it, some didn’t and most hated the type treatment. That’s fair. I’m not the best nor the worst, I simply do my best. I was hired by principal Nancy Peterson, who had just seen my work for Mission Hills High School, so I agreed and discounted my fees to help the community. I think we’ve done what we wanted to, and you really have to see the before and after of the logo throughout the school to appreciate it’s impact. So many schools these days use clip art logos or steal from pro teams. We didn’t and I’m proud to say I was a part of it.
And for the record, I like Bingo’s comment.
Thank you all so much. Never stop caring or discussing the good and bad of design, it’s what makes us all better at what we do.
Scott
May 13th, 2008
Thi s is s o true, thank you for tellin g us how yo u reall y feel. I see no b ird, only grea t design.
May 13th, 2008
This page displays bird logo designs. These logos all share a common feature : they contain images of birds. While the images of birds are a combination of abstract and realistic images, they all share a common theme. If you own a bird pet store, are a bird handler or are involved with a company that is specifically involved with birds, these logos are for you. Different species of birds are ideal for logos as well. They make great mascots and make wonderful visual images for logo designs. They are eyecatching and very easy for people to remember. You don’t have to have a company related to birds to use on of our bird logos. Sometimes the type of bird reflects an integral part of your company. Take time to browse through our designs to see if any of our bird logos might work for you.
You can always request to have color changes to these designs at no additional charge. Please note that we also do custom logo design if the designs here are not quite to your liking.
May 13th, 2008
You needed to exam the theory of 3’s, not enough triangular shapes to incorporate a mascot into a school design…subpar at best!
Use this site for inspiration http://mathartfun.com/
May 13th, 2008
I think it’s crafty! Look at my website for more helpful tips!
May 13th, 2008
Oh Martha…you are as crafty as my Cheetah “Tumba (Swahili for flower)”, this logo is sweet money like lilly bear, keep up the good work Mr. Malech!!!!
August 1st, 2008
I actually really love this logo. I drive by this school several times a day and love the banners up all over the school with just the helmet portion of the logo. If you go to their athletic website (I added it’s link) it has also taken this logo and made it work for all of the sports and it looks fantastic in its graphic elements. It’s sporty and modern and definately unique. I’m not crazy about the font/lettering, but the helmet is utilized everywhere without the lettering and I love it. When you see this graphic anywhere, you know its from San Marcos High School. That to me is success.
Job well done Scott. If the posters to this blog could see this design in action and on the field I believe they would agree it well represents the high school.
April 10th, 2009
Действительно интересно. Автору, как говорится, респект и уважуха.
May 26th, 2009
Народ в таких случаях так говорит - Баба гневалась на торг, а торг того и не ведает.
June 8th, 2009
Hello,
I am Scott Malech’s daughter. I appreciate you all commenting on my father’s work. I love the design and his mission hills one, also. It disturbs me thought that you, Kristina, completely exaggerated the way my father reacted. I know my father is a great man and would never do such a thing.
-Scott’s daughter