The Creighton Bluejays are the athletic teams of Creighton University, a private Jesuit institution in Omaha, Nebraska, competing in the Big East Conference. The university’s athletics visual identity centers on a stylized Bluejay head mark and a suite of related logos developed in 2013, when Creighton joined the Big East.
Design and History
Creighton’s athletic teams were known unofficially as the “Hilltoppers” or the “White and Blue” before 1924. That year, the Creighton Athletic Board and Alumni Association sponsored a public contest through the Omaha Bee newspaper to select a nickname. After reviewing 200 entries, the board chose “Bluejays” because the bird’s color matched the school colors.[1]
The first Bluejay logo was an ornithologically correct depiction of the bird perched on a branch, used for about 16 years. In 1941, Creighton alumnus Joseph P. Murphy, a journalism professor and public relations director, designed a more animated, humanized version of the bird with attitude and expression. Murphy’s 1941 design remained largely intact for 72 years with only minor revisions.[1]
In October 2013, in conjunction with Creighton’s move to the Big East Conference, the university unveiled a new athletics brand, including a primary logo, sport-specific logos and secondary marks. The new logo was designed to build on the history and tradition of previous Billy Bluejay icons while establishing a distinct identity in the Big East.[1] The redesign was part of a university-wide rebranding effort that began after Creighton became a member of the new Big East in mid-March 2013.[2]
The 2013 identity was created by Mongoose Graphics of Denver, Colorado, an experienced designer of athletics marks.[3] The primary logo features a multicolored Bluejay with a large letter C in the background.[2] For the first time, the logo consisted of just the bird’s head rather than the entire body, a radical departure from previous full-body Billy Bluejay marks.[4]
The official athletics logo has many variations, but the six main components are: a stylized Bluejay head used alone, the head used with the Creighton wordmark, the head inserted in a new C, the C graphic alone, the Creighton wordmark and the Bluejays wordmark.[3]
Following the October logo unveiling, Creighton Athletics commissioned Street Characters to produce an updated Billy Bluejay walking mascot costume that more closely resembled the new athletics brand. The new-look Billy made his first public appearance on December 8, 2013.[1]
Meaning and Symbolism
The 2013 logo incorporates several nods to Creighton’s visual history. The profile view of the bird’s head was reminiscent of the “angry” Billy from 1970, while the powder blue stripe on top of the head referenced the 1970s men’s basketball uniforms. The design also recalled the original 1924 “Birdwatchers Bluejay” in that it depicted an actual bird rather than an anthropomorphic character.[4]
The rebranding committee, made up of people from all factions of the university, felt incorporating the letter C into the main logo was important.[5]
Typography and Design
The official colors for the Creighton University Bluejays are CU Royal Blue (PMS 286), CU Navy Blue (PMS 2767), CU Light Blue (PMS 284), CU Gray (PMS 424) and CU Light Gray (PMS 421).[3]
The 2013 logo was noted for its three-dimensionality achieved without overusing gradients and bevels common in modern sports identity design at the time.[4] The new wordmark replaced the long-standing “Jays” script that had been the primary athletics logo since 1994.[6]
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