One Man’s Hot Garbage is Another Team’s New Logo

The new Clippers Logo. I don't hate it.

I love the Los Angeles Clippers. Why? Well, for one I hate the Lakers (I know I may not be making any friends with that statement), but the most compelling reason is it’s fun to root for the underdog. The Clippers have existed in the Laker’s shadow for so many years, and after suffering through the Donald Sterling drama a rebirth is definitely in order. While the Clippers broke my heart this last season, the team’s new owner Steve Ballmer gives me some renewed hope -- plus Ballmer’s enthusiasm is incredibly endearing.  

So, what does my love for the Clippers have to do with my journalism class? Rebranding. This past Wednesday, Ballmer unveiled a new team logo on the Conan O’Brien show, and the response has been, well… less than warm. The new logo has been called “hot garbage,” similarities have been drawn to the Microsoft office assistant Clippy, and #ThingsBetterThanTheClippersLogo is trending on Twitter.

Rebranding is something I have been working on with my students. This year we looked at the designs of different online news outlets. I had students look at other high schools news website and college ones as well. Historically, the Scarlet Scroll hasn’t had a big presence on campus, and that’s one of things I’m trying to change. I know it will take leveraging social media to increase awareness, but I think rebranding is in order too.

For your viewing pleasure: the current masthead.

A lot of time was spent changing the look of our site, so that it felt less like a blog and more like a news site. What I didn’t spend much time on was the masthead.  I loath the current logo for the paper, but I have avoided changing it. Changing a major element is intimidating, and the last thing you want is a “hot garbage” comparison. While I don’t anticipate the student body to have feelings as quite as strong as some Clippers fans, I want my journalism students to feel good about the publication they produce. Has anyone gone through a major redesign with their publication? Comments, insights, advice all welcome!

Jill Cavotta

Mater Dei High School

Santa Ana, California