The Pacific West Conference, commonly known as the PacWest, is an NCAA Division II athletic conference founded in 1992 through a merger of the Great Northwest Conference and the Continental Divide Conference.[1] Its visual identity has undergone two documented redesigns, in 2011 and 2015, each tied to specific designers and stated goals.
Design and History
The conference introduced a new logo in 2011 that was created by students in Darrell Hayden’s Identity II Graphic Design class at Academy of Art University, a PacWest member school. The project began in the fall 2010 semester when Academy of Art University Director of Athletics Dr. Jamie Williams pitched the rebranding concept to the PacWest. After weeks of design exploration, student submissions were narrowed from 16 to four finalists, and the PacWest staff and athletic directors unanimously chose a design titled “Evolution” by fourth-year student Chen Chen. The logo was described as a blue oval that “evolves the original logo into a new contemporary look that depicts sky, mountains, and sea.” PacWest Commissioner Bob Hogue said the logo represented “the beauty, the growth, and the strength of the PacWest,” noting that “the oceans, the bays, the valleys, the mountains” were all represented.[2]
In June 2015, the PacWest introduced a revised brand identity that took effect in the 2015-16 academic year. The updated logo “encapsulates the classic PacWest mountains and wave graphic and wordmark in a circle, giving it a contemporary style and increasing its functionality.” The wordmark changed to “PacWest Conference” to better identify the organization in the media landscape, and the official conference color changed to a lighter shade of turquoise. The 2015 logo was conceptualized by director of strategic positioning Jimmy Knodel and the conference’s strategic positioning committee, and the redesign was executed by Dominican University of California Assistant Director of Athletics for Athletic Communications Brandon Davis.[3] Davis was also credited with the redesign and execution of the PacWest logo in a separate announcement from Dominican Athletics.[4]
For the first time, the 2015 PacWest logo was rendered in the school colors of each member school, providing each institution with a mark that would integrate into their own branding efforts. Commissioner Bob Hogue said the new logo “revitalizes the brand with a modern look and allows for increased visibility and recognition.”[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
Mountains have been a central theme in the PacWest logo since at least 2005. The pre-2011 logo featured a mountain range in white and light blue placed inside an ellipse, with the lettering “The PacWest” in black serif letters below.[5] The 2011 “Evolution” design by Chen Chen was described as depicting sky, mountains, and sea, reflecting the conference’s geographic identity.[2] The 2015 redesign preserved the mountains and wave graphic, placing them within a circular format.[3]
Typography and Design
The 2015 PacWest logo places the conference name inside the circular mark alongside the mountains and wave graphic.[3] The official conference color changed to a lighter shade of turquoise as part of the 2015 rebrand.[3] The conference also published a style guide to accompany the new identity.[3]
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