A Facilitated Discussion of Themes, Messages, and Visual Identity (2011 Strategic Plan)

Anyone who has ever tried to distill the Hampshire College experience into a quick “elevator speech” knows how complex and multifaceted our story is. At the same time, we must develop and promote consistent institutional messages that speak to Hampshire’s distinctions and value, build consensus of support among our community and constituents, and can be quickly and effectively conveyed. This is true of visual messaging as well. While our institutional Visual Identity Guide (http://www.hampshire.edu/7139.htm) spells out usage guidelines for our logo, seal, and colors, we are often inconsistent across the institution and across offices in our use of them. A unified self-understanding of who we are as an institution is an important component of visual representation, both on and off campus. Led by an external facilitator, we wish to engage students, faculty, staff, alumni, and trustees in a discussion of Hampshire’s identity and messages. One key concern is that messages and themes developed through this process must be articulated with due attention to external reports on how these messages might be read by the students we hope to attract.

Comments
Please include your thoughts on the importance of the initiative, how to frame the issue, things that may be missing, and any additional comments here (you can do so by logging into Hampedia and clicking edit):


 * If the community is expected to maintain a consistent visual identity the community should also be part of the creation of that identity. For example, members of the community could design and vote on a logo. Devin Morse
 * I second Devin's comment: if the message that Hampshire communicates to the outside world is at odds with how members of the community actually feel, we do ourselves and our prospective students a disservice. I would also like to note that while I support this discussion, I also don't think it's necessarily a bad thing if, say, Hampshire's basketball and soccer teams have different mascots. I rather like our quirky collection. Claire Oberholtzer, student F07
 * I agree with the comments above. We can't create messages and a cohesive visual identity without buy-in from the community. We can't achieve buy-in unless the community feels that they are part of the process and that the messages and identity feel authentic and true. Messaging happens not only from externally facing offices and publications, but on social media, in person when prospective students meet with faculty, interact with other students, etc. If we are truly going to be consistent in how we frame ourselves, then we need to let people be a part of the discussion and then teach them how to message effectively. I think this would also be a time to revisit the design of the logo, which I do not think will ever be embraced by the community. If we really want to have a consistent visual identity, then we need to bring more constituents into the conversation about how that identity could translate to a graphic design.