Southern California University of Health Sciences Alumni Logo Redesign
SCU Alumni Logo Redesign by Rennacker Studio.
Project Overview
SCU, an esteemed institution dedicated to educating the healthcare professionals of tomorrow, boasts a storied history and a lofty mission. Founded with a vision to transform healthcare education, SCU has consistently maintained its commitment to excellence. This commitment extends beyond the lecture halls and clinics — it permeates SCU’s brand. They aim to reflect their heritage, values, and aspirations through their brand — staying relevant to their current and prospective students while paying homage to their alumni.
We had the privilege of partnering with the team at SCU to modernize their alumni logo and create a mobile-optimized digital graduation program that would reflect the institution's legacy while embracing the future of the medical field.
Project Goals and Objectives
At the core of this collaboration were two clear objectives. First, we aimed to modernize SCU's alumni logo, and second, to craft a digital graduation program for the Fall 2023 commencement that would redefine the graduation experience, making it both engaging and accessible for audience members using mobile devices.
SCU Alumni Logo Redesign
Illuminating SCU's Heritage
Our creative research journey began with a profound appreciation of SCU's storied history. Founded in the early 20th century by Dr. Charles Cale and his wife, Linnie, amidst the bustling city of Los Angeles, SCU pioneered the formalization of chiropractic training, tracing its roots back to 1911. Over the decades, it absorbed several chiropractic institutions, witnessed legislative milestones, and expanded its curriculum to meet evolving standards.
In the late 20th century, SCU transitioned into a multi-program university, embracing alternative health sciences. In 2020, the university continued to grow adding two new masters programs; Master of Science in Medical Science and a Master of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, alongside seven other divisions.
Fast forward to 2023, and SCU desperately needed a new Alumni Logo that was more reflective of their current brand.
Side-by-side of the previous SCU alumni logo on the left, and the refreshed alumni logo on the right.
Bridging Tradition and Modernity
Logo redesigns are always a delicate task. They require a modern touch, but a clear homage to the brand’s legacy — particularly for a 100+ year old institution that has touched thousands of lives over the years. Working closely with the SCU team’s feedback, we went through a number of logo iterations. Some were a bit more “out there” while others clearly tied back to the brand’s roots.
Head of Creative, Cameron Rennacker sketching out concepts for the Southern California University of Health Sciences Alumni Logo.
Ultimately, we landed in a spot where the alumni logo could be proudly displayed on school swag and other applications, while staying true to the main SCU brand. We chose to adapt the curvature of the arms in the icon by nesting the “S” under the arm and then justify the word “Alumni” in all-caps underneath the SCU and Icon lockup.
Underlying grid system of the client-approved SCU alumni logo.
This simple, yet effective solution satisfied both the career services team and the marketing team who were going to be the primary stakeholders of this project. But more importantly, the design resonated with students of Southern California University of Health Sciences. It looks great on student merch and we developed variants of the logo that can be used to promote a single discipline or department at SCU, further promoting the modularity, versatility, and adaptability of the logo’s design.
The new SCU Alumni logo is highly versatile. It can be dismantled, rearranged, or paired with the name of a department for situational uses and application on promotional products like notebooks, mugs, water bottles, and tote bags.
Additionally, the logo can be used in digital content to feature upcoming alumni guest speakers and to be used on the alumni resources page of SCU’s website.
The new SCU Alumni logo can also be used digitally for guest speaker presentation slides or for use on the school’s alumni resources website page.
Digital Graduation Program
The Need To Evolve
Once the alumni logo was complete, we focused on creating the first design where the new logo would be released into the wild — a mobile optimized digital graduation program for their fall 2023 commencement. This program was an entirely new challenge for us at Rennacker Studio, but it leveraged our expertise in user experience in a new and exciting way.
The old graduation program had become quite dated and was originally formatted for print. It featured classic script and serif fonts, but the type was so small that even in print, no one could read it without a magnifying glass. This obviously resulted in a sub-par experience for family and friends visiting for the commencement ceremony that we wanted to fix.
The SCU commencement ceremony before the Fall 2023 redesign.
Shaping Tomorrow's Commencements
We ran with the idea of optimizing the program for mobile devices. “In 2022, mobile phones generate 60.66% of website traffic, while desktops and tablets are responsible for 39.34%.” (techjury, 2024). Additionally, not having to print the programs would save a substantial amount of money for the institution going forward. Creating a digital solution was the obvious choice here, and designing a digital program would allow for loved ones to easily search for the person they wanted without having to scroll through the entire document.
But there’s a caveat when working with universities, particularly with graduation-related projects. Generally, the institution doesn’t know exactly who’s graduating until the week before graduation, after finals have been completed and grades have been finalized.
Knowing this was going to be a hurdle, we front-loaded a good portion of the layout work to the beginning of the project while we had to wait for content to come in from the client. Getting this part out of the way and approved meant that once we had names, we could start populating pages quickly.
SCU’s redesigned, mobile-friendly program cover page.
Mountains of Content — All At Once
We LOVE a good challenge! We received final content about a week before the actual graduation date. Once we had that, our design team was off to the races! By the end of the project we had 47 pages, containing over 500 staff and faculty names. Out of those names, about 120 of them received hand-applied and superscript-formatted stars to indicate their honors achievements. It was a fun day where we got our studio team in a zoom call, divided tasks, turned on our favorite Apple Music playlist and let our brains go numb as we command + c’d and command + v’d for a few hours.
Parents looking for their graduate’s name in the redesigned SCU digital graduation program.
This collaboration with SCU reaffirmed the profound impact that design can have on revitalizing a brand and elevating user experiences. It demonstrated how tradition and modernity can coexist harmoniously, and how innovation can breathe new life into long-established institutions. As we look forward, Rennacker Studio remains committed to delivering innovative design solutions to educational institutions like SCU and others. We invite all those who share our passion for design to explore more of our portfolio and to contact us for a creative partnership that can bring your design visions to life.
