Scott Markman, BFA ’81, founder and president of MonogramGroup, a Chicago brand agency, was the designer of the university’s previous logo and brand design system in 1986. After the announcement of the WashU brand transformation was announced last August, he wrote to Chancellor Andrew Martin to praise the new brand transformation. Here are portions of that letter:
Chancellor Martin, Executive Vice Chancellor [Pamella] Henson and Dean [Carmon] Colangelo:
I am writing as a proud alumnus of (the newly branded) WashU, as I have been every day since I graduated in 1981 with my BFA in graphic design.
Over the years, I have witnessed the growth of the university’s reputation and accomplishments, far beyond when I first received a brochure in the mail as a high school senior in Baltimore. Frankly, my parents thought I was crazy to apply somewhere they had never heard of 800 miles away, when we couldn’t afford it. I applied behind their back, and when I was accepted and received a full scholarship, they changed their mind. One visit to Spring Thing, and I was hooked.
In many respects, spending four years at WashU changed my life forever. I learned how to think, was surrounded by smart, motivated people who pushed me, made lifelong friends that eventually brought me to Chicago, found a career that I was passionate about (and pretty good at), and, most importantly, met my wife at a WashU alumni event.
I started a graphic design firm in Chicago in 1990 and eventually took on two partners who were friends from WashU. Over the years, we hired a few WashU designers and hosted WashU design students as interns as well. Today, MonogramGroup is one of the premier brand agencies in the U.S., with a strong national reputation for being the go-to firm for private equity.
“So when the announcement came out a week or so ago that the university had undertaken a meaningful, long-overdue updating to its brand and all that goes with it, my reaction has been: ‘Bravo. Well done. It’s about time.’”
Scott Markman
Over the years, Sharon and I have maintained our affiliation with the university and the many, many friends we each made there. We have been donors to the annual fund for decades and have attended many Chicago alumni events for the university and the Sam Fox School.
So when the announcement came out a week or so ago that the university had undertaken a meaningful, long-overdue updating to its brand and all that goes with it, my reaction has been:
Bravo. Well done. It’s about time.
Washington University in St. Louis’ brand has been appropriate, smart and elite since 1986 when the current branding was created. But pushing the boundaries when compared to its peer institutions? Not really.
So the refreshed brand conveys a sense of confident, modern, comfortable-in-our-skinness that is in sync with the way Millennials think and what they connect with. It’s who WashU is but was never confident enough to express.
So what makes me uniquely qualified to share my perspectives with you? Not because I am an alum. Not because I am the founder of a recognized branding consultancy and have spent 43 years in the field.
It’s because five years after graduation, I was the one who did the work for my alma mater that has not been touched in 38 years.
That’s right, in 1986 one of your very own created the entire brand design and even drew the shield – by hand. It’s how I know the reason the fleur-de-lis were drawn angled, at the suggestion of my boss at the time (and never redrawn since) – as evidenced by the frequency with which you can see those quirky little symbols of St. Louis in steel around campus.
When the email came out a few weeks ago announcing the new branding, I received dozens of emails and comments on Facebook asking my opinion since everyone knows I did the foundational work. Across the board, I let my friends and family know I thought it was terrific work.
For most of my adult life, creating the WashU logo has been far and away my proudest lifetime achievement. All my friends, both alums and others, as well as our kids and family, have been aware of this, as I have talked about it often.
And now you all are, too.
Folks, there’s a story here. A uniquely WashU story.
Vanderbilt, Northwestern, University of Chicago … let alone Harvard or Yale, can’t talk about one of their recent graduates creating a brand that for 38 years has been the visual cornerstone of the growth and emergence of one of the premier higher education brands in the last 100 years.
Hell, in many ways I am your brand.
Best,
Scott Markman
BFA, Class of 1981
