The UTD Mercury

Media Credit: Susan Rogers The Office of Communications hopes the new artwork will give UTD publications a new visual identity.

Prospective students are seeing a new graphic on UTD's publications, thanks to a design from the Office of Communications.

Although some may mistakenly view it as a new logo, the design is only a "piece of artwork," said Susan Rogers, vice president of communications.

The university is experimenting with the design as part of its continuing efforts to redefine its visual identity guidelines. UTD and the UT System have strict policies for how the school is represented graphically, and the Office of Communications wanted to give departments more options, Rogers said.

"We're trying it out to see if it works," she said.

Though many prefer to call the school by its initials, the new design - created by communications graphic designer Lee Don Moore - incorporates the city name Dallas and the shape of Texas, which Rogers said is itself visually pleasing in general. All UT System schools are also required to incorporate the flagship school's color orange into their logos and school colors, Rogers said.

The current logo has remained unchanged for more than 25 years and was likely UTD's first true logo since it was incorporated into the UT System. The UTD community is not in a hurry to get rid of it, said Lauraine O'Neil, director of university marketing.

Moore said he first conceived of the design while making postcards for prospective students and decided to incorporate the Texas into UTD's existing wordmark, which provides a specific typeface and layout for the UTD name.

"The shape of our state is recognizable all over the world. Like Italy or Africa, it is a powerful symbol that speaks volumes about who we are and defines our place in the world," Moore said. "The Texas added a whole other level of meaning to our wordmark and really helped define our University; after all, 'Texas' is our middle name."

The current logo will remain UTD's official logo indefinitely, while the new art will serve as an additional graphical choice for departments, mainly the Office of Enrollment Services, which markets directly to the community, so it has the greatest need for visual flexibility, Rogers said.

The new design will likely go into broader use in the future as UTD works toward its core goal of communicating the university's story better through a variety of media, Rogers said.

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