Located in Tallahassee, FL, Florida State University is a prominent research institution engaged in various scientific activities. The university comprises 16 colleges and over 100 centers, offices, and units offering more than 300 educational programs. Florida State University is also home to the National High Magnetic Laboratory and the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. To highlight its intellectual richness and traditions, the institution recently revamped its visual identity by introducing a logo and updating the emblems for athletics.
In the rebranding process, the university opted for simplicity, selecting an FSU wordmark as its primary logo. The design features gold letters outlined in garnet, stylized with peculiar spikes at the corners and ends. On its official website, Florida State University showcased several graphic versions of the acronym in various color schemes. The official version also includes the inscription “Florida State University” in a clean, sans-serif typeface.
The Seminole head logo, described as the most iconic and recognizable image for FSU athletics, was slightly adjusted and complemented by a series of secondary emblems redesigned in gold and garnet to aesthetically align with the FSU logo. These emblems, such as the FS monogram, a football helmet, and a spearhead, have long represented the traditional symbolism of the university’s sports division and are designated for athletics use only.
Commenting on the redesign which has been carried out for over a year, Susannah Wesley-Ahlschwede, FSU Chief Marketing Officer, noted that the FSU logo has filled a gap in the university’s visual identity, as FSU previously belonged to a few US universities which had only a seal and an athletic logo.
And indeed, the identity triad “the seal, the logo, and the athletic logo” is common for most universities in the US. In this connection, we can recall the recent rebranding of the University of California Berkeley, where the academic logo and the athletic emblem received an equal presence in the university’s identity.
The FSU logo now complements the university’s traditional seal, featuring three torches and the motto “Vires, Artes, Mores” (“Strengths, Skills, Morals” in Latin). The new brand style guidelines restrict the use of the marks based on the three torches seal, reserving them exclusively for official documents and events.
In conclusion, the FSU rebranding serves as a notable example of academic logo design — moderately strict with distinctive elements — enabling the university to establish a recognizable brand identity. The design team successfully created a cohesive visual system by refining a specific style and updating the collection of athletic symbols.
