Real improvement over the old logo. I particularly like that we are now referring to ourselves as U.S. Masters Swimming rather than USMS. If we are trying to attract new members and we are all on occasion walking billboards with meet t-shirts, who knows what USMS means besides those who are already members. I have any number of meet t-shirts in which neither the graphics or text give any indication that it is actually from a swimming event. Kudos to the group who picked the name change and the design.
Three problems:
1. The swimmer looks like the hand is cut off. It doesn't look like swimming feels. And it is not abstract enough to be just a symbol.
2. It looks like a minor variant on Obama's campaign design.
3. The restrictions on its use restrict its use. A whole line of nice but not official looking apparel could be developed with it, but artists would need to be free to play with, well, the color at least. Plus, think about all those t-shirts for athletic events with multiple sponsors where they spread all the sponsor logos out on the back to have them all look bad, like a case of acne. Flexibility with logos is a key to fixing that.
2 - have you seen USA Triathlon's logo? It's got three waves under it too - and theirs was developed in 2005 before BHO's.
3 - Logos are visual trademarks. You can't use a trademark without permission of the owner. As owners of the logo, USMS has the right to deem certain use (and alterations) appropriate or inappropriate. Registered USMS Clubs have free reign to use the logo - part of our rights as paying membership - but use must still conform to the standards set forth by USMS.
I would urge you to visit the Logo Page, and also visit the two "Logo Layout Files" pages, where you will find 14 versions of the new logos. Any t-shirt, website or print artist should be able to find one of those 14 acceptable.
Three problems:
1. The swimmer looks like the hand is cut off. It doesn't look like swimming feels. And it is not abstract enough to be just a symbol.
2. It looks like a minor variant on Obama's campaign design.
3. The restrictions on its use restrict its use. A whole line of nice but not official looking apparel could be developed with it, but artists would need to be free to play with, well, the color at least. Plus, think about all those t-shirts for athletic events with multiple sponsors where they spread all the sponsor logos out on the back to have them all look bad, like a case of acne. Flexibility with logos is a key to fixing that.
2 - have you seen USA Triathlon's logo? It's got three waves under it too - and theirs was developed in 2005 before BHO's.
3 - Logos are visual trademarks. You can't use a trademark without permission of the owner. As owners of the logo, USMS has the right to deem certain use (and alterations) appropriate or inappropriate. Registered USMS Clubs have free reign to use the logo - part of our rights as paying membership - but use must still conform to the standards set forth by USMS.
I would urge you to visit the Logo Page, and also visit the two "Logo Layout Files" pages, where you will find 14 versions of the new logos. Any t-shirt, website or print artist should be able to find one of those 14 acceptable.
