The development of the Minerva Identity Program for UNCG was a thoughtful process that engaged faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members for more than three years. While the Logo Advisory Committee guided the process to its successful completion, numerous members of these audiences participated in surveys and voiced their opinions along the way. The staff of University Relations is grateful for the time, service, and expertise so many people gave to the project.

What Guided the Design of the New Minerva Identity Program?

Phase One — Determining if a change is needed

Research efforts conducted by University Relations in 2001 revealed that the primary logos -- the Wordmark and the Beribboned Logo -- were not representative of the University’s desired position nor communicated its essential values. With an awareness of these communication problems, University Relations formed a Logo Advisory Committee, consisting of staff and faculty with a background in marketing and design. The committee’s first task was to conduct a web-based survey targeting undergraduate students, graduate students, alumni, faculty, staff, campus board members and community members. After compiling more than 3,000 responses, the data analysis from the UNCG Office of Institutional Research highlighted a few key points:

• The two current logos, the Wordmark and the Beribboned Logo, were considered to be ‘vanilla,’ averaging a score of 3 on a 5-point quality scale.
• In both written and verbal forms, respondents preferred to reference the University by its abbreviation, UNCG, over UNC Greensboro or the full name, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
• When asked to rate 25 qualities the University should embody, seven were rated as most important: Scholarly, Expertise, Resources, Real World Applications, Career Oriented, Forward Thinking and Leadership.

Based on these results and the need to better position UNCG within the higher education marketplace, the Chancellor’s Executive Staff approved the design process for a new UNCG identity program.

Phase Two — Testing concept and design

University Relations worked with a local marketing firm to identify a unique identity concept for UNCG using data collected from the survey. They explored iconography, such as campus landmarks, as well as more abstract approaches. The Logo Advisory Committee continued to guide the process and approved three design concepts for testing. University Relations returned to the same broad audience groups, surveying more than 350 representatives. Working with Institutional Research, one concept was elevated for further development, reflecting the ideas of Enlightenment and Doorway of Opportunity.

A design firm was then hired and asked to work with the following components:

• Create an identity program unique to UNCG that reflects Enlightenment and Opportunity.
• Create designs that embody the traditional ideals of Scholarly, Expertise and Resources, as well as more contemporary values such as Forward Thinking, Leadership, Real World Applications and Career Oriented.
• Use the abbreviation UNCG as the brand name for audiences familiar with what the letters stand for.

The Logo Advisory Committee approved four designs for testing. Surveys were distributed to a sampling of more than 250 representatives from the same broad audience groups as before. According to Institutional Research, the quantitative data equally supported three of the four logos. The design firm then reviewed the qualitative data and applied the recommendations to the logos. Based on the final round of designs and the desire to establish an identity exclusive to UNCG, the Chancellor’s Executive Staff selected the image of Minerva as the foundation for the University’s identity program. Additional feedback was collected from faculty and staff at fall convocation 2004. Minerva was overwhelmingly accepted by a ratio of 3:1.

Logos for the academic units – the College, schools, Library, Alumni Association, International Programs Center, and Graduate School – were created next. This logo family incorporates three components: The Minerva Emblem, the University Name (abbreviated or full) and the individual unit name. As part of the Minerva Identity Program, the extended family builds a strong, consistent visual image for both the University and its component units.