Southeast Missouri State University unveiled refreshed spirit marks, including a new primary logo, wordmark and variations for its 15 athletic programs.
The redesign features an official brand font to complement the marks, and a focused emphasis on 'SEMO' as the preferred reference for the University in Athletics and less formal communications. These logos are the first update to the University's spirit branding since the Redhawk was introduced in 2005.
Director of Athletics Brady Barke acknowledged that a strong and recognizable brand is essential to continue to elevate the profile of the University and Athletics, and the new marks complement the existing Redhawk logo and help establish a strong regional and national identity by embracing the SEMO nickname.
SEMO started the process of creating its new brand identity following a 2018 brand refresh study completed by Ologie, a higher education branding and marketing firm. Ologie closely studied the use of "SEMO" vs. "Southeast” and concluded that audiences prefer the personality, uniqueness and familiarity of "SEMO,” except in more official institutional communications. Their recommendations included embracing the SEMO acronym by establishing parameters for usage and creating a wordmark.
The new logos were designed by the University Marketing team, in collaboration with the Department of Athletics and campus leadership at no additional cost to the University.
Along with the new logos, fans will notice a more frequent use of "SEMO" in reference to the University and its athletic teams on uniforms, apparel and other materials. Official social media usernames for Redhawk Athletics have all been changed from @GoSoutheast to @SEMORedhawks.
University President Dr. Carlos Vargas noted that as Southeast Missouri’s Division I athletics program, the refocused identity represents the institution's strong connection to the region.
You can learn more about the new marks by visiting GoSoutheast.com.
Follow Redhawk Athletics on Twitter, now at @SEMORedhawks.
