**Photo by Isa Montes**. Santa Clara University’s new shield logo in front of the Mission.

Santa Clara University launched a new logo to modernize its brand and help expand its national and international presence, but the decidedly mixed online reaction seems more focused on the design aesthetic and color changes than the University’s broader goals.

Despite the intention of creating a modern and cohesive brand, the logo has generated varied responses from the community.

On social media, the unveiling of the logo has faced criticism. On the University’s Instagram post with the new logo, commenters expressed various complaints, particularly with the yellow Pantone color on the logo. One user likened the new look to fast-food branding, commenting, “Brat summer is over. McDonald's-lookin' autumn has commenced,” while another noted: “It’s giving ketchup and mustard.” Another user lamented the changes, commenting, “Miss the Bronco! Yuck on yellow. Sorry.”

Vice President of University Marketing and Communications Lawrence Lokman acknowledged the mixed reactions. “Whenever you introduce a new logo or a new identity, people have come to love the one they're used to seeing, or they have different views of what they think a new logo should be,” said Lokman. “Some people will be more skeptical, and others, more resistant. That's very common and completely understandable.”

“The Mission logo we updated is more than two decades old,” said Lokman. “It wasn't developed for the digital era.”

The process of developing a new logo has been a lengthy process, having taken more than a year. “It's been about a year and a half process to get to this point,” said Lokman.

The new logo came as a part of a larger university rebrand meant to tackle the lack of a cohesive visual identity. Regarding the new logo specifically, the University wrote, “Over the years, different campus divisions and programs have deviated from using the main Santa Clara University academic mark.”

The new logo features a shield emblem with a silhouette of Mission Santa Clara in a deep red against a yellow background. The University hired Jerry Kuyper Partners as part of a “competitive bid process” to design the new logo. The University declined to release the total cost of the redesign.

In an email to The Santa Clara, University Marketing and Communications wanted to clarify that “the official University seal will not change and will continue to appear on diplomas and other formal, official documents.” The rebranded academic logo similarly won’t impact Athletics branding.