Brent Ellis’ Post

I have always been fascinated by the work of Oklahoma State University. I feel like they do so much well in their Marketing Department. In the many areas of graphic design and marketing, they even cover the little things, and turned them into major things. They start off their image of web presence bold and strong. They have a web template that the pages are used, and consistency is a beautiful thing they do well. One of the things I think they have going for them is their school color, orange. This color is used EVERYWHERE; which in my opinion is a very good thing. It is in their logo, their website, their publications, their images...EVERYTHING! It becomes something that is very recognizable and is a means of which they can identify themselves, simply by a color. It's amazing how much weight color can have.

In their typography, they use classic typefaces, one being Sabon, but not only that, they have created their very own typeface (OKSTATEU)! Many people use fonts that are classic and recognizable, but how few actually create their own? This alone I think gives them some gold stars. It shows they really do care about their image, and standing out from the crowd. Sometimes its the little things that make the difference, and I think this is one of those. They use typographic hierarchy  in their publications with bold headers and sub-heads, as well as incorporating the OSU orange, such as in the alumni publication, STATE magazine. In their posters and such, they give generous white space, which makes it feel good, as well as good leading and not crowded.

The logo for OSU is well done because it can be produced in either three, two or one color reproduction, so it can be as elaborate or simple and cost effective. It is simple enough it can be used very small or as large as desired. It's shape is such that can be used on a variety of places; Posters, coffee cups, vehicles, billboards, or whatever. It is also simply very attractive.

They use large images which are beautifully designed into the page, and make it interesting to look at. The images, as well, incorporate orange. The web page has a girl wearing an orange scarf, that ties into other elements such as the logo, the brand campaign, and balanced with the orange text at the bottom. The images often bear students either with OSU attire, or wearing orange clothing; or buildings or icons of the university campus. The most beautiful thing is it all ties in together. Whether it be the web site, posters, brochures, images, text, color or type, everything brings you fully back around to Oklahoma State University.