When it comes to advertising, Grinnellians keep it sweet and simple. At least, that’s what the staff in the Center for Careers, Life and Service (CLS) thought when they asked themselves what the most effective way to promote its logo around campus would be.
After becoming an official “center” for the College, staff in the CLS decided that the Center needed to have a logo. Thus, after several months of working on a logo, Mike Zuppa, Creative Director, finally unveiled his creation on Tuesday, Nov. 10, the beginning of the first phase for the release of the logo.
Even though the colors and the design fit with the prairie landscape of Iowa, the logo managed to confuse several Grinnellians on campus.
“We wanted to build momentum and excitement for the new CLS logo,” said Career Counselor Kelly Guilbeau.
On the student end, “the logo just looks Grinnellian,” according to Clare Magalaner ’18. On the other hand, Shannon Ellery ’18 didn’t have a single clue as to what the logo represented.
The idea was originally sparked after a visit to London by another CLS staff member.
“So, when Megan Crawford [Director of Career Counseling and Exploration] was in England, there was just a picture of a guy all disheveled, who had just woken up and looked like he was sick on the buses. It was just the picture and no words. There was a buzz on the bus for two whole weeks,” Guilbeau said. “Finally, after two weeks, words were added to the poster to promote cough syrup. Then, everybody was talking about cough syrup.”
Since finalizing the logo, Guilbeau, with the help of Saunia Powell, Assistant Director of Post-Graduate Service, and Sarah Barks, Assistant Director for Graduate and Professional School Advising, devised a plan for a two-week timeframe to reveal the logo and its connection to the Center.
After blitzing the entire campus with just the logo, the second phase started on Friday, Nov. 14 with the addition of three words, or what Barks called “triads,” to the different logos around campus.
“I put it on Facebook and had my friends who are mostly unconnected to Grinnell respond to my question. I said, ‘Give me some triads’ and they gave me a bunch of examples even though I didn’t say why I wanted them,” Barks said. “I received a ton of answers and soon we [Guilbeau, Powell and Barks] brainstormed which ones we wanted to choose,” Barks said.
In contrast to several other colleges and universities that have a Career Development Office, Grinnell also helps students tie career, life and services.
“Having not gone to any other colleges, I think it’s important for first- and second-years to understand why it is that we have life and services in our name. This is kind of a risky experiment to try to weave them together to create more whole people. I think that deserves some buzz, cause I think that’s pretty cool,” Powell said.
According to Barks, the logo reflects the changes that have occurred in the office recently. Although not much is in development that will change the way the CLS will operate, a lot has been added to the Center. For example, the number of staff and interns has increased in just this past year.
“CLS programs and services aim to foster a holistic understanding of success and purpose, preparing students to thrive professionally, civically and personally. Our logo represents the interdependent components of an identity that drive our Center’s mission,” according to a statement released by the CLS.
In order to engage the Grinnell community, the CLS soon became interactively inspired by Yik Yaks made about the signs earlier this month. Guilbeau had an epiphany to make it officially interactive by placing a “guess” box in the mailroom in which students could guess what the logo represented. As the only person to guess correctly, Rosie O’Brien ’16 won a gift card to the Purple Cucumber.
