I wanted to avoid a mortarboard, and I didn't think an apple with a worm coming out of it was reflective of our maturity (some would argue that point). I looked online for inspiration and got some ideas that I'll share below. For the sake of anyone out there in cyberspace trying to design a logo for higher education and student affairs academic department merchandise, please learn from my trial and error!
1. Venn Diagram
The idea here, if it isn't obvious, is that our department merges higher education and student affairs. Hence, Venn diagram.
2. Alphabet Soup
We use a lot of acronyms, or as I like to say WUALOA's (nobody really says this).
3. Mountain Climbers
This one was inspired by motivational clip art of a mountain climber giving a helping hand. It's very philosophical, and implies that the department reaches out to help students succeed. However, my stick figure at the bottom looks more like he's falling into nothingness.
4. LED Lights
If our department were the set of a Madonna video, this would be perfect!
5. Quill
Quills have to do with writing, and yes we do write from time to time. But this looks more like a publishing company logo.
6. Tetris
Ah yes, Tetris. This goes back to the Venn diagram as it implies that higher education and student affairs complete one another. Side note: I never realized the Tetris box said "From Russia with Fun!" on it...
7. Stylized Building
When in doubt, just make a picture of your building. It automatically has something to do with your department, because that's where you are.
From what I can tell so far, we like the building logo. With a few modifications, we should be able to make the majority of people happy with the look of our department merchandise.
What I learned: When in doubt, draw the building.
