A New Brand for Friends
Written by Robyn Fettman (Communication BA ’18)
While ‘communication’ has been around far longer than UC’s Communication Department’s start in 1964, we are now able to formulate what communication means in various facets of education, professional careers, and life—while still driving further into the future.
For over 50 years, the UC Department of Communication has developed educational tracks dedicated to widening the scope of how communication benefits everyday life and business. As the need for communication careers grow, so has the department. This expansion has led to the growth of courses, student organizations, research opportunities, and a successful alumni association.
Friends of Communication was formed in the summer of 2015 with the intention of creating a community of alumni to help design a future for current students. For the past four years, Friends of Communication has brought alumni closer; creating a platform that enhances connection, while providing volunteer and learning opportunities.
Over the past year, Friends of Communication has hosted more volunteer, networking, and social events than ever before—including an Alumni Workshop Series that hosts discussion panels, interactive graphic design lectures, and much more!
As we grow, we want our brand to reflect the strides we have made as an organization, while still embracing professionalism and connectivity. Communication Chair, Alyssa Wallen, and I came together to brainstorm new logo ideas. After hours of consuming multiple cups of coffee, researching, and viewing hundreds of logo ideas, we were lost. Our ideas and sketches, at that point, did not exude the same positivity that Friends of Communication made us feel—so we went back to the drawing board.
We began thinking of questions, trying to spark ideas. We asked ourselves, “What color should it be?”, “What shape will it be?”, “How will we use the logo?”. After many rounds of questions, we asked one final question—“Why did we choose Communication?”
We wrote our many thoughts down a fresh piece of paper. Once complete, Alyssa and I shared our ‘Why’s’. We discussed our love for the department, the opportunities professors and faculty created for us, and the dedication of their willingness to see students beyond the classroom. This was the birth of our byline, “Beyond Bearcats.”
We were able to naturally develop concepts and shapes based on our feelings about our experiences, giving meaning to each piece of the logo. We attempted to give each word or phrase its own emphasis by bolding and changing colors. The line around the words allows the logo to have an icon look, while still connecting each word with meaning. While our main emphasis is that we are an alumni organization, we always look to go beyond this to connect on deeper levels—offering guidance and help to students, the department, the college, and other alumni. We showcase this in our logo by putting emphasis on “UC Friends of Communication”, but using the red line to wrap around our organization shifting our focus to “Beyond Bearcats” which represents our outlook toward the future.
It felt incredible to design a logo that others can look at as a source of community. After multiple rounds of edits, we are proud to showcase Friends of Communication’s new logo—a logo we hope students and alumni can identify with for years to come.