ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY - BEEBE LOGOS
I designed this logo for Arkansas State University - Beebe of Beebe, AR. After ASU - Beebe changed their mascot to the Vanguard, they held a mascot logo competition. The competition was open to all students and faculty of all ASU - Beebe affiliated campuses (which included the campuses at Beebe, Heber Springs, Searcy, and the Little Rock Air Force Base). I just recently moved back to Beebe, AR and became a college student minister with the ASU - Beebe Baptist Collegiate Ministry. I entered the logo of the vanguard charging on the horse and it unanimously won the competition.
There were different factors that went into the overall style of the design. I decided to design the mascot logo with the same style as the existing school logo (the "BB" logo inside the vanguard's shield). I also wanted to create a logo that could be taken apart and used in various forms. After researching and finding the term "vanguard" originated in the medieval times, I wanted to incorporate a medieval style. These factors led to the smooth-curved pointed-edged style with the white spacing within the logo. I also utilized the four colors that the school seclected by keeping the blue as the main color, navy blue to create a sense of depth, gray for the metal armor, and red as the secondary and balancing color.
Quite a bit of research went into the character of the design. I knew from the beginning that the vanguard needed to display the strong characteristics that the university, itself, strives for. A vanguard is the first soldier into battle. From this, I knew a vanguard must be a leader who is strong, courageous, focussed, alert and ready. To show leadership and courage, I designed the vanguard with his sword drawn forward, leading the charge. For strength and power, I have him on a charging horse that has its ears back. His helmet is designed for him to appear focussed and his shield held in place is to show that he's alert and ready. I also designed the armor, sword, and shield to be accurate to that time.
After I won the competition, the university informed me that they voted to incorporate the existing logo into the shield. That meant that I had to completely redesign the shield to fit their logo. This wasn't an easy task since the shield was in the center of the logo. I was a little bummed that the shield I designed wasn't going to be used, but the new shield was able to fit nicely and I think it helped connect my logo with the existing logo.
I was also asked by the university to create a font and to include "VANGUARD" in the logo. Nothing worked for this with the mascot logo I designed, so I decided to design an alternate logo. I went with a front-facing vanguard to display the helmet and to give it an intimidating aggressive look. For the font, I had to use Open Sans. I just took that font and added my own medieval design to it. As I did with the primary logo, I used the colors to my advantage and created depth with the navy in the cape and balance with the red at the bottom.
The vanguard mascot logos are special to me as they helped me begin my art business. I give all credit to my Lord for blessing me with the oportunity and ability.
