Advertising, Law School Deans, Law Schools

Adventures in Law School Advertising: American University - Washington Preschool of Law

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At right, you will find the old logo for the American University – Washington College of Law (WCL). It’s a typical law school logo. There’s little particularly objectionable about it. We’re not graphic design experts here at ATL, but we would only criticize it for being a little too busy and incorporating too many fonts.
The WCL administration recently decided to revisit its logo, perhaps in hopes of convincing prospectives that it’s still worth going to law school if they don’t get into Georgetown. (Over at Concurring Opinions, law professor Sarah Waldeck would say no, unless they’ve scored a free ride.)
The WCL students are not too happy about the new logo, so they’re getting their protest movement on. They’ve started a Facebook group! They’re soliciting angry comments at the SBA Student Thought Spot! And they’re sending the media long, impassioned letters about the wrongs being perpetuated against them by the Man!
One revolutionary writes:

The students have dubbed [the logo] “progressive preschool,” with its mismatched typeface and colors. This is one sad day for AU Law students.

See the revolution-inciting abomination, after the jump.


Here’s the new logo:

Says another angry WCL student:

It looks like something a bunch of preschool teachers or wet-behind-the-ears non-profit folks came up with. I think it’s supposed to be celebrating diversity, but I haven’t seen any teal blue, grey, mauve, orange, or light green law students walking around. (And on top of that, the graphic designers didn’t know that you should never, but never, mix serif and sans serif fonts in a graphic.)

One WCL student has started a protest group on Facebook: WCL: What a Crappy Logo. According to a wall post by the group’s creator, the design company behind the logo is called Redhead.
The Facebook wall has garnered the following critiques:

It looks like bunch of Crayons under a tent.

BLEH it looks so AMATEUR….hi we go to Special-ed law school….but we’re diverse!

This new logo is almost as nice as Scalia’s comments about WCL students.

Holy shit – that thing better not be on my DIPLOMA!!!!!

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All hope for a respectable logo is not lost. Says a WCL spokesperson:

American University Washington College of Law has started a new campaign to promote the law school’s entrepreneurial spirit, diversity, and commitment to social justice among other values.
The “Champion What Matters” campaign has been well received in terms of content. While some members of the community are enthusiastic about the logo, others are not.
A committee has been created with a broad cross-section of faculty, administrators, and students to address the situation and make a recommendation.

And according to one WCL student, “Dean Grossman has said that he is married to his wife of 36 years, not this logo.” Viva la revolución!
WCL: What a Crappy Logo [Facebook]
Champion what matters [American University – Washington College of Law]
Justice Scalia Tells Law Student Why She Probably Won’t Be His Law Clerk [ABA Journal]

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