The Post and Courier by Caitlin Herrington, Oct 12, 2022
Clemson – When the city of Clemson was incorporated in 1943 – changing its name to Calhoun – its residents and leaders did not know that the popularity of the university would diminish the small-town charm they would appreciate.
With this in mind, the current city council hired Arnett Muldrow and Associates in August to help rebrand the city and differentiate it from its academic neighbor.
The Greenville-based firm has worked with several upstate cities, as well as other college towns across the country, to help them find unique features and use them to the benefit of the city. For Clemson, this means a series of input sessions with community leadership, youth groups, nonprofits, and the general public, which stands out from most.
“We had very diverse groups throughout the day, and I love to see so many different perceptions of what our community has to offer,” said Mayor Robert Halfacre. “It was a wake-up call, a little bit, so that’s good.”
Currently the logo on city vehicles represents a rendering of campus landmarks. A 2022 rebranding campaign should be unveiled in early 2023 to bring continuity to the city and separate it from Clemson University.
While the city has wholeheartedly embraced its proximity to Clemson University in the past – its current logo depicts campus signs and a tiger’s paw painted on the asphalt outside the city’s police station – some residents have been able to distinguish the two.
Resident Alison Fowler said people may come to the area with short-term assignments to learn or teach from university, but the connections they make are lifelong. “Relationships grow from this place,” she said, no matter whether one stays in Clemson for five months or 50 years to form a friendship.
Clemson’s options are limited when it comes to separating from the university, Muldrow said. Unlike Wake Forest University in North Carolina—which relocated to Winston-Salem, NC in 1956—the 120-year-old land-grant Clemson University is locked in its location.
The task for Muldrow and his colleagues is to create a modern logo and style guide for graphics used in daily letterhead and social media campaigns.
Per the firm’s proposal, the city agreed to pay Arnett Muldrow $17,332 for his services, which is estimated to take four months. Assistant City Administrator Alison Gante is expected to disclose the rebranding in early 2023.
The logo currently on Clemson City Hall shows a rendering of a campus landmark and does not match the logo widely used in other areas of the city. A 2022 rebranding campaign should be unveiled in early 2023 to bring continuity to the city and separate it from Clemson University.
A logo version with Tillman Hall’s clock tower may still adorn the side of the city’s vehicular and another may remain on City Hall for a while, even though the rebranding was unanimously welcomed by the community. Signs welcoming drivers to the city limits will still not have the logo.
“They’ll come back and give us some tools to use,” Halfacre said. “Obviously, if we decide to change some things, there will be some cost involved. But if you are going to commit to a hashtag or a slogan or a video, these things are going to come very quickly.”