Hempfield officials look to standardize 'Spartans' logo

Hempfield school officials could spend $2,400 to standardize the district’s “Spartans” logo.

This week, school board members discussed hiring Base Design Studio of McCandless to create “a professional and standard appearance,” according to Superintendent Tammy Wolicki.

The design agency would be responsible for creating a uniform Spartans logo that could be used on social media, business cards and the district website.

“This is something, that going through as a process, we’d be able to control who can use the official Spartans logos,” Wolicki said. “Many times, teams use T-shirts and they have many different Spartan figures, icons. It would make it more standard.”

She added that trademarking the logo also could give officials the opportunity to manage images used by social media groups not associated with the district, noting that the groups could request permission to use official logos.

According to a quote from Base Design, the first phase of the project would include gathering brand assets like the logo and creating various file formats, letterheads and business cards. From there, stakeholders would have the opportunity to provide feedback on the design. A final document featuring brand guidelines then would be available for staff and could be provided on the district website.

Other area schools having trademarked logos include Franklin Regional, Pine Richland and Baldwin-Whitehall, officials said.

Still, the proposal did not come without pushback from some members, including Sonya Brajdic, who expressed concerns over paying for a service that could be completed by staff and students.

“We have nobody in our district that’s capable of doing that in a classroom with our kids? We have to spend $2,400 to go out and do that?” Brajdic asked. “I just think it’s a great process for a classroom to do.”

Wolicki said the idea was presented by John Testa, a high school technology teacher who focuses on graphic design, who hopes students can work with members of Base Design Studio throughout the process.

Board members will vote on the proposal during Monday’s school board meeting.