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District-College Branding Project

Logo History

Four district logo designs since 1973.

SDCCD Community,

While many people in our community know and love our colleges, few recognize we are a comprehensive community college district. Our community members may know about our excellent academic and transfer programs or our outstanding career technical education opportunities, some may know about the expanding basic needs supports we provide to ensure higher education is accessible to everyone in our communities. Too few people recognize the full scope of educational programs and services we provide and our tremendous positive impact on our community.   
The District is working to clarify its mission, vision, and values so that more people better understand who we are, what we do, and how everyone can benefit from the programs and services offered at our colleges.   
One of the first steps on this journey will be to refresh the District’s logo, which has remained largely unchanged since 2005. A new visual identity system will more closely align the District with the colleges and help us better engage our 80,000 students, 5,000 employees, and thousands of supporters in the community.   
As part of the District-College Branding Project initiated last fall, we conducted stakeholder engagement through surveys, focus groups, and 1:1 interviews. This is what we learned:

  • There is strong consensus for a new District logo that more closely shares the elements of the college logos but introduces a new color that better differentiates the District from Miramar College, both of which use teal green currently.  
  • Several participants noted that the District’s current logo feels dated, monochromatic, and static. It does not properly convey the energy, excitement, and opportunity represented across our institutions.
  • There is also a desire for the District logo to better reflect San Diego, including our region’s beautiful natural setting, cultural diversity, and dynamic economy.
  • People love the colleges’ colors, but feel the logos could be more legible.   

Early in 2024, Selbert Perkins Design, the company hired by the District to assist with this effort, produced several exciting new logo concepts. These have been reviewed by the Chancellor’s Cabinet, District Governance Council, and United Student Council. We are excited to share three proposed logo concepts with you that incorporate the four colors of the colleges and introduce a new color for the District.   
We invite you to share your thoughts on the proposed logo concepts by participating in a brief survey that will be sent out at the start of April. Your anonymous input, along with that from other students, employees, and community members, will help us decide on a new logo. 
We aim to finalize the logo design by May, with a soft launch to follow and full implementation during the 2024-25 academic year. Resources, such as a branding guide and templates, will be provided to facilitate a smooth transition. To be good stewards of public resources, it may take some time before the old District logo is completely retired from signage and other areas. Plan to use up your current supplies of letterhead, business cards, and other collateral before ordering new supplies.   

Thank you for participating in the survey. I also invite you to share any comments/feedback using the email cpr@sdccd.edu

Sincerely, 
Gregory Smith 
Chancellor

 

LOGO DESIGN OPTIONS PRESENTATION (February/March 2024)

July to September 2023 Brand Research audit of existing branding, logos and visual identity. Analysis of over brand. September 2023 to January 2024 Stakeholder engagements one on one interviews group discussions digital surveys. Findings and Presentations presented engagement findings to chancellor’s cabinet district governance council. Brand recommendations. January to April 2024 Strategy and design concepts. Set project goals and objectives. Brand logo design concept sketches. Design testing. Presentations to United Student Council, Chancellor’s Cabinet and District Governance Council. Digital Surveys. April to June 2024. Final logo and brand guide reveal. Announcement of new logo. Development of brand style guide. Brand training sessions with employee stakeholders ongoing.

Based on initial findings presented in December 2023, Selbert Perkins Design presented an initial 12 logos, which were shared with the Chancellor’s Cabinet and trimmed down to four options then reviewed by the District Governance Council and United Student Council for feedback in February and March 2024. Those councils narrowed the options down to three, which will be presented to the greater SDCCD community in an official survey that will be distributed to students, employees, and select community partners in early April so that feedback can be collected from these stakeholders regarding what they’d like to be the District’s new logo. 

View the Presentation

PROVIDE FEEDBACK

An official survey to collect input on three logo designs is now open through April 19. We encourage you to participate and vote using one of the following survey links:

Employee survey:https://forms.gle/1ag8VzenmtUTmK4a9 

Student survey:https://forms.gle/JyQs1hFQ7iqXPtV77

Community member survey:https://forms.gle/n9rgizi7Ri7poPTk9 

 

INITIAL FINDINGS REPORT (December 2023)

The first step in this process was to gather information from various SDCCD stakeholders on the perception of the District’s brand identity and logo, as well as feedback on the current college logos. After reviewing transcripts from 1-on-1 interviews with 15 individuals, group discussions with six groups, and 3,481 responses from digital surveys sent to students, employees, and select community stakeholders, collected between September and November 2023, Selbert Perkins Design presented the following key findings:

  • Stakeholders would like to see changes that will update and modernize the SDCCD logo and connect it visually to the college logos.
  • A new color should be developed for the District identity that is different from Miramar College to eliminate confusion.
  • A tag line should be developed to clearly communicate the values, mission and goals of SDCCD.
  • Current four college colors are well liked.
  • Font and type composition in the college logos could be improved to increase legibility. 

 

 

 

Branding Project FAQ
Why is the San Diego Community College District engaged in a rebrand and changing its logo?
On July 21, 2022, the SDCCD Board of Trustees adopted the 2023-2030 Strategic Plan. A key element within the plan is the identity of the District and its four colleges, San Diego City, Mesa, Miramar, and Continuing Education. A strong visual identity system reinforces the mission, vision, awareness, and value of the District and colleges within and outside the SDCCD. Ensuring the District’s logos, typography, colors, and other visual elements align with its desired identity is an important element in communicating the SDCCD’s purpose to students, employees, industry partners, and other stakeholders. The District’s current logo was created in 2005 and refreshed in 2017. Since then, much has changed in the world, and it was time to assess how well the District’s current visual identity system reflects the SDCCD’s purpose within the community and how that fits with the vision set out to achieve by 2030.
Will the individual college logos change?
Currently there is not a plan to change the college logos. However, based on community and stakeholder feedback, if there is a strong desire to change or modify the existing college logos to be more cohesive with the District, that discussion might be worth looking into in the future.
How was Selbert Perkins Design chosen to work on the rebrand project?
In spring 2023, the District put out an RFP related to branding, and Selbert Perkins Design was among more than 15 firms that submitted proposals for the project. SPD's work with various public organizations and their emphasis on conducting the project in a clear, transparent manner set them apart from other applicants.
Who gets to weigh in on the rebranding process and choose a new logo?
From the start, the District wanted to make sure stakeholders from all areas within and outside SDCCD were included in the process to make sure diverse voices and viewpoints were being shared. A survey to gauge people’s feelings on the existing brand was sent to SDCCD employees, students, and community members. Selbert Perkins Design also conducted 15 1:1 interviews and six group discussions with Board of Trustees members, College residents, public information officers, Academic and Classified Professionals Senate leaders, student groups, and development directors.
How can I be involved with the process?
A survey to vote on the the final three logo designs will be sent out to employees, students, and community members in early April. You may also provide feedback here or email cpr@sdccd.edu
What will the rebrand include?
At this time, the scope of the project is to update the District’s official logo. Additionally, consideration is going into the creation of a tagline that quickly expresses the District’s mission and value to the community, as well as an official District seal that would mirror the new logo and be used for specific internal purposes.
What is a tagline? Does one already exist for the District?
A tagline is a brief phrase or message that is used to garner attention and express a brand’s value in a memorable way. The SDCCD does not currently have a tagline.
When will the new logo be unveiled?
After the surveys sent out in April are closed, there will be a brief review of the results before an announcement of the new logo will be made by May.
Is there anything I need to do as a result of this change?
A soft launch of the new logo design will take place starting in May with a full implementation during the 2024-25 academic year. Resources, such as a branding guide and templates, will be provided to make the transition simple and easy. We recognize the current logo exists in numerous places including on building signage, swag, business cards, stationery, etc. It will take some time before the old logo is completely retired, and we encourage you to use up your current supplies before ordering anything with the new logo.

 

PREVIOUS COMMUNICATION FROM THE CHANCELLOR

August 10, 2023 
Good Morning SDCCD Community, 
During the fall semester, we will be reviewing the District’s current visual identity, logos, and branding materials. Please read the message below for more detail and opportunities for you to participate in this process!

It has been one year since the Board of Trustees adopted the San Diego Community College District 2023-2030 Strategic Plan (July 21, 2022). In the months following, we completed a comprehensive realignment of divisions within the District Office to provide more effective, efficient, and equitable support to our colleges and services across the District; established Institutional Innovation and Effectiveness, and Development and Entrepreneurship divisions; implemented technology infrastructure improvements to provide faster, more reliable, and more secure network and system performance; and finalized comprehensive facilities plans at each college to guide our efforts to acquire new funding to modernize our facilities across the District. Extensive planning efforts to achieve goals and objectives in student success and wellbeing, academic excellence, workforce development, financial health, state of the art facilities, and institutional resiliency are ongoing at each college and District division. I look forward to sharing more details on our strategic plan implementation work at the Chancellor’s Forum events early in the fall semester.

A fundamental element of our strategic plan is the identity and branding of our District and colleges. A strong visual identity system reinforces the mission, vision, awareness, and value of our District and colleges within and outside our institutions. Ensuring our logos, typography, colors, and other visual elements align with our desired identity is an important element in communicating our purpose to students, employees, industry partners, and other stakeholders. The District’s current logo was created in 2005 and refreshed in 2017. Since then, much has changed in our world, and it is time to assess how well our current visual identity system reflects our purpose within the community and how that fits with the vision we have set out to achieve by 2030.

Over the next year, the District will work with Selbert Perkins Design to assess and, if appropriate, develop a new visual identity for the SDCCD. In August, Selbert Perkins will start engaging with students, faculty, classified professionals, administrators, and a wide range of external partners and stakeholders to understand current perceptions of our District and colleges. A combination of individual interviews, focus groups, electronic surveys, and other methods will be used to engage the full diversity of our communities in this process. Your perspectives and input are valuable, and I hope you will participate. 
We expect to have the results of the stakeholder engagements by the middle of fall, which will shape the direction and outcomes of this effort. We will share the findings and next steps as we progress through the year.

Thank you, 
Greg Smith
Chancellor

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