In 2003, FAU created a committee that had the mission of creating a single identity for the university. At the time the committee was created, there was over 80 versions of an Owl logo, five school colors and about three different athletic team names.
In 2003, FAU University President Frank Brogan wrote this in an editorial that appeared in the Sun-Sentinel: “Anyone who receives FAU publications or attends FAU events knows that the university's visual image is anything but consistent. Two different versions of the owl logo appear on FAU license plates, and a much greater variety wing their way through brochures, posters and other university-produced materials.”
In 2004, the committee finalized its decision. The colors were set – red, blue and white. The logo, seal and athletic logo were a go. Although internet search results couldn’t produce a number, I recall a figure of about $200,000 as the cost of going through the process- not including the human hours spent out of the office and instead attending meetings by committee members.
Now, in 2006, things haven’t been updated. Departments aren’t using the colors or the logo. And no one is doing anything about it.
In 2004 when Alvira Khan was student body president of FAU, she paid to have the student government offices painted purple. The purple paint covered two air-brushed Owls that the 2001 student government administration paid $1,000 to have decorated the office. In addition, Khan also spent over $100,000 on couches for the first floor of the University Center. To her credit, she got 50 percent of the project correct. She bought red couches and blue couches, but also purchased gold ottomans and a brown couch.
Sometime during 2004, the painting of FAU students and the mascot enjoying FAU campus life was painted over just outside of Wackadoo’s. The wall is a gold color now.
The tip of the iceberg: 2006 – three years after the branding initiative started. The Centre Marketplace, where students that live on campus eat everyday, had a major renovation and redecoration over the summer. There is no red, blue or white. In fact, the chairs that had “FAU” etched on them have been taken out of the cafeteria and put in an “off campus storage unit,” as described by one university center official.
The FAU Housing Department, who currently supplies me with a bi-weekly paycheck, room and board and a meal plan, gave the staff yellow shirts to wear. Yellow is not an official school color.
Finally, the red, white and blue FAU police cars have disappeared. They have been replaced with black and white cruisers.
What I don’t understand is why we even spent the money to complete the branding initiative if departments aren’t going to follow the rules of the university. Student clubs can’t make the eyes inside the Owl logo red to spice up the design of their t-shirts. However, the cafeteria, police department and housing department can get away with painting their walls, making their t-shirts and designing their vehicles without FAU colors or logos.
