BOSTON, Mass – The New England Women's and Men's Athletics Conference (NEWMAC) is pleased to reveal its new visual identity and brand after concluding nearly a year's worth of committee work, research and multiple design phases. The conference collaborated with NEWMAC Athletic Directors, Sports Information Directors, Strategic Communications experts and Student-Athletes with the help and guidance of graphic designer Skye Dillon of Skye Design Studios to develop a fresh and modern logo.
NEWMAC President, Wheaton College Athletic Director and committee representative John Sutyak stated "This is an exciting day for the NEWMAC and our 11 member institutions as we release our new conference marks. This is a culmination of a comprehensive process involving multiple members of the NEWMAC community and I am proud of the work the committee has done on behalf of the conference with this rebrand. Thank you to Patrick B. Summers, Jen Miller-McEachern and Taylor Teixeira in the NEWMAC office, as well as Skye Dillion who worked with the conference office closely throughout this process."
The new identity marks include a circular, laurel logo which represents the history, traditions and commitment to academic excellence. The six inside laurel leaves pay tribute to the NEW6 conference (1984-1987) while the eight outside laurel leaves honors the NEW8 conference (1987-1998). The spherical design symbolizes a globe signifying the diversity of the NEWMAC's 11 members while the laurel leaves emphasizes our commitment to academic success and preeminence.
"The NEWMAC logo rebranding process has been highly involved and educational, allowing us to envision more who we are, what we value and where we want to go as a Division III athletic conference. It has been exciting to be part of the development and I am proud of the results - this new logo greatly captures our values, vision and purpose now and into the future" says WPI Director of Athletics and committee member Dana Harmon.
The conference leadership, through the NEWMAC's strategic plan, made a commitment to rebrand and further develop the 18-year old orginal logo. As a part of the rebrand, the conference will also relaunch its website to reflect the new marks.
"The introduction of the new logo confirms that the NEWMAC is a conference on the move. While it embraces our past, the new design both embodies our willingness to innovate and captures the hope and energy of the future" says NEWMAC President's Council Chair and Wheaton College President Dennis Hanno.
In order to dedicate time and research to its creation, a Logo Steering Committee comprised of Wheaton (Mass.) Director of Athletic and NEWMAC President, John Sutyak, WPI Director of Athletics, Dana Harmon, Babson College Associate Athletics Director for Strategic Communications Scott Dietz, Springfield College Director of Sports Information Brian Magoffin and Clark University Director of Sports Information Kevin Anderson was formed and spent the entire 2015-16 Academic Year helping bring life to our new visual identity.
"The NEWMAC continues to position itself for success and preeminence through the dedication and commitment of our presidents, institutional leadership, athletic administrators and staff, coaches and student-athletes to our mission of academic and athletic excellence. Our new mark gives the conference a contemporary look that modernizes and refreshes our logo. It appropriately reflects our high standards and values and the endless potential of where we can go while reflecting and respecting the conference's history and traditions" remarked NEWMAC Executive Director Patrick B. Summers.
In order to help understand and promote the NEWMAC brand and marks the below Identity Pyramid was created. This visual will help explain the NEWMAC logo to the conference's constituencies and the specific use of each identity mark.
The NEWMAC visual identity system was created by Skye Design Studios (www.sdsbranding.com), a brand identity and design firm based in Florham Park, New Jersey.
