An Exploration in Developing CSUN Sports Club Uniform Logo

California State University, Northridge (CSUN) has a long history of sports excellence and relies upon the branding and symbolism of its traditional Matador mascot to convey both a cultural heritage and a spirit of courage and heroism. Over the years, the CSUN logo has been updated to better satisfy the demands of changing times, ensure the logo is appealing and to establish that the university's values are embodied. This study focuses on developing a collection of innovative logo designs for CSUN's sports club uniform in order to promote the uniform's sale. The new logo will enrich the uniform design since the wearer would like to represent the university with new image in a new era. To guide the design process, a content analysis method was utilized to understand the needs for the design. In addition, a literature review was conducted to analyze the designs of other brands to ascertain the design elements incorporated into leading brands. A collection of four design series was then created that incorporated this research and these logos then underwent an evaluation conducted by experts. Overall, a variety of relevant findings were revealed that will help create a CSUN logo that can be used in sports club uniform. While redesigning logos it is critical to keep designs minimal and to retain a sense of brand recognition. In addition, factors such as color, shape, the golden section theory, and font are important in creating appealing designs. Based on the design factors, four themes were chosen: "Upgrade," "Grace," "Sports & Competition" and "Minimalism". After the expert evaluation, the major findings of this section of the study were that balanced negative/positive space, minimalism, silhouettes, and shapes that indicate movement resonated greatly with the viewer. Future projects will revolve around utilizing the feedback to adjust both layout and shape to improve printability and logo resonance.