Earlier this year, I stumbled upon a site deep within the OSU web that had pre-release copies of the forthcoming new graphic identity for Oregon State University. I poked around for a while and reviewed the new wordmark and related design templates. I contemplated posting the link at that point, but opted to keep my "discovery" private until after the university publicly announced its new graphic identity. Officially, the university has retired its previous logo, which was designed in the late 1980s or early 1990s and often mistaken for a manhole cover. In its place, OSU is adopting a wordmark that -- while not as catchy as the Oregon "O" designed by Nike -- is definitely bolder, simpler and more effective than the symbol it replaces.
The new graphic identity was adopted for official use beginning April 5, 2004. And while I've not seen any media coverage of this transition whatsoever (intentional on the part of OSU?), I think enough time has passed to allow those so interested to review the new branding guidelines (PDF) and marketing collateral.
Here is an example of what the new business cards will look like (This is a mock up only):
(Click to view full image size in pop-up window)
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