For my VIS 317 class in the fall '23 semester, I had the opportunity to work on a passion project for my VIS 317 class at Newhouse. I’m currently very interested in branding projects and I saw an opportunity to attempt to rebrand Syracuse’s Otto the Orange logo.
I pitched the following slides to my class.
While the current Otto is loved by fans, it's dated, and there are numerous issues to be fixed. The biggest issue is the inconsistent strokes and lack of optimization for digital use. Because of this, you’ll only really see it on merchandise, never on TV.
Looking around college athletics, numerous schools have a recognizable mascot logo. Otto is certainly a recognizable mascot, but the logo? Not outside the Syracuse fanbase, and this is because it's not televised anywhere.
Another common trait is the tough, mean look these logos have, something I tried to imitate with the new Otto logo.
Additionally, there's new energy stirring in Syracuse surrounding the hiring of new coaches:
The new Otto has a tough, strong look that challenges anyone who's ever said he's too happy. He boasts both a blue and orange hat, depending on the use, and he resembles an actual orange, as opposed to an orange furball.
I used a football helmet to mock up the new logo, but ideally, the block "S" would still be used here, with the Otto logos as alternatives.
Throughout the process of creating this logo, I utilized traditional sketching as well as AI-generated versions of Otto as inspiration.
I think that as AI software advances, it's important to keep up and utilize it as a tool. Throughout this project, I used it as a reference on numerous occasions.
Here's the new Otto logos alongside the current Syracuse logo suite.
