The Rice Owls are the athletic teams of Rice University in Houston, Texas. The visual identity of Rice Athletics is built around the Old English “R” as its primary mark, supported by a family of owl marks, wordmarks, fonts and numerals developed in a 2017 brand refresh.
Design and History
The owl has been associated with Rice athletics since the university’s earliest days. When athletic activities began at the Rice Institute in 1912, the teams adopted as their mascot the owl from the Rice seal.[1] That seal, designed in 1912 by Pierre de Chaignon la Rose of Cambridge, Massachusetts, features three Athenian Owls patterned after a design found on a silver tetradrachm coin dating from the middle of the fifth century B.C.[2]
In April 2017, Rice Athletics unveiled a new branding identity after two years of research and planning.[3] The refresh retained the Old English R, which had been the primary mark for the Owls since the 2007-08 season, while introducing a new wordmark, owl body, owl head, fonts and numerals.[3] The new marks were developed in partnership with Torch Creative and adidas.[4]
The branding team researched the history of Rice Athletics marks, conducted over 50 interviews with alumni, donors, fans, university personnel, coaches, student-athletes and students, and sent a survey to over 25,000 people.[3] Feedback revealed strong affinity for the Old English R but a lack of broad recognition, mixed feelings about the Old English Script, and a desire for an owl mark that was dynamic, sharp, aggressive and relevant.[3]
The new owl head mark introduced in 2017 was named a finalist for the Creamer Awards Alternate Logo of the Year, announced by SportsLogos.net.[5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The owl imagery in Rice’s identity derives from the university’s academic seal. Owls of Athena, symbolic of wisdom, were chosen for the charges on the seal, which also incorporated the words “letters, science and art” because Rice University was dedicated by its founder to the advancement of those fields.[2]
Rice’s primary colors are blue and gray, selected in 1912 by Rice’s first president, Edgar Odell Lovett.[6] The university specifies Rice Blue as HEX #00205B and Rice Gray as HEX #7C7E7F.[6] Official Rice logos may be printed in four-color process, Rice Blue (Pantone 280), Rice Gray (Pantone 425) or one-color black.[6]
Rice maintains a formal separation between its academic and athletic identities. Athletics logos should not be combined with Rice academic logos on external materials including T-shirts, bags, pens and other promotional merchandise.[7]
Typography and Design
Rice’s institutional typography combines Copernicus, a serif font chosen for its stately character and portrayal of the wisdom and honor of Rice, with Mallory, a complementary sans serif font.[8] Rice Athletics maintains its own typography within the athletic identity system, supporting the distinctive treatment of its wordmarks and numerals.[3]
The Rice Athletics brand standards extend to the use of official colors, athletics marks, wordmarks, typography, lockups and other matters affecting the department’s visual identity.[9]
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