President's Message
Dr. Bettsey Barhorst
Issue date: 11/11/09 Section: News
As one of the first implementation steps of our Facilities Master Plan we need to replace outdated signs that exist across most of our campuses. Before we allocated resources to this necessary project we wanted to make absolutely sure that our signs accurately reflect the Madison Area Technical College story.
We turned to the expertise of Mark Schmitz, a proud graduate of our commercial arts program and both principal and creative director of visual design firm ZD Studios. Mark and his staff are, among other things, logo experts. They use a recipe, of sorts, to tell a client's story - a recipe of color, iconography, consistent usage, total buy-in and time.
Mark and his team started by analyzing our school color-blue. Research shows that dark blue is associated with integrity, seriousness, stability and loyalty. It symbolizes confidence and knowledge. Light blue is associated with health, healing, energy, tranquility and understanding. It too symbolizes confidence and knowledge. So the color blue that we have been using for decades is a good choice for us.
They next turned to iconography, looking for a shape or symbol which can be used consistently and stand the test of time - one that will reflect credibility, quality, strength and time-honored traditions.
The most important part of the college's story is, of course, education. Education can be depicted in many ways but Mark feels that what our students go through is a journey, so he chose a symbol of direction, journey, future, portal and decision.
The logo also needed the support of the college name. Madison Area Technical College is a great name and says a lot about who we are. But while our full name has too many words, the MATC acronym says nothing about who we are.
Our story takes place in parts of 12 counties, over 12 main sites and numerous community-based locations. We have a flagship campus located in the capitol of the state, in a city with a national reputation for delivering high quality education. We also have a 100-year history equal in importance to the cutting edge technology that defines who we are now and who we will be in the future.
We turned to the expertise of Mark Schmitz, a proud graduate of our commercial arts program and both principal and creative director of visual design firm ZD Studios. Mark and his staff are, among other things, logo experts. They use a recipe, of sorts, to tell a client's story - a recipe of color, iconography, consistent usage, total buy-in and time.
Mark and his team started by analyzing our school color-blue. Research shows that dark blue is associated with integrity, seriousness, stability and loyalty. It symbolizes confidence and knowledge. Light blue is associated with health, healing, energy, tranquility and understanding. It too symbolizes confidence and knowledge. So the color blue that we have been using for decades is a good choice for us.
They next turned to iconography, looking for a shape or symbol which can be used consistently and stand the test of time - one that will reflect credibility, quality, strength and time-honored traditions.
The most important part of the college's story is, of course, education. Education can be depicted in many ways but Mark feels that what our students go through is a journey, so he chose a symbol of direction, journey, future, portal and decision.
The logo also needed the support of the college name. Madison Area Technical College is a great name and says a lot about who we are. But while our full name has too many words, the MATC acronym says nothing about who we are.
Our story takes place in parts of 12 counties, over 12 main sites and numerous community-based locations. We have a flagship campus located in the capitol of the state, in a city with a national reputation for delivering high quality education. We also have a 100-year history equal in importance to the cutting edge technology that defines who we are now and who we will be in the future.
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