Rice rolls out fresh new branding

Event held Tuesday to unveil new graphics

HOUSTON – Get ready for a brand-new brand from Rice Athletics, the school said Tuesday as it publicly unveiled the Owls’ new set of graphic elements.

“Our goal with the brand refresh was to create a consistent aesthetic that best represents Rice,” said Joe Karlgaard, the director of athletics at Rice University. “We saw an opportunity to create something clear and visually memorable that would complement our primary mark, the Old English R.”

The brand refresh is the result of two years of planning and research.

An event was held Tuesday at the new Brian Patterson Sports Performance Center at Rice Stadium to present the graphics.

“The new family of design elements were designed to establish the best representation of an authentic Rice Athletics brand,” a news release said. “These elements retain the iconic Old English R, which has been the primary mark for the Owls since the 2007-08 season, while incorporating a new wordmark, owl body, owl head, fonts and numerals in order to be consistent and solidify what the brand represents. Through refinement, the aim is to reinforce and amplify the brand for Rice Athletics for years to come.”

A branding team interviewed alums, donors, fans, coaches, student-athletes and students, and sent a survey to more than 25,000 people -- some who were involved with Rice and some who are local to the Houston area but otherwise unconnected to the school -- to gather feedback.

That feedback showed a strong affinity for the Old English R but a lack of broad recognition; mixed feelings about the Old English script with a sense it’s disconnected from the direction of Rice Athletics; fondness toward being an owl and all that it represents but a desire for an owl mark that is dynamic, sharp, aggressive and relevant; and a need for marks that are legible, usable, recognizable and consistent, school officials said.

Rice partnered with Torch Creative and Adidas on the branding.

Tuesday’s reveal kicked off a series of events to promote the introduction of the new graphic identity. Additional campus events will be held throughout the week, wrapping up with a block party for all Rice fans at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Rice Village.