Isle artists get
chance at UH logoThe regents agree to tap
local designers and end
the contract with a mainland firm
Hawaii graphic designers will get a chance to create a new logo for the University of Hawaii, which excluded them by hiring a mainland firm earlier this year.
CORRECTION
Monday, July 14, 2003>> Any professional design firm or designer, local or otherwise, can submit their credentials and samples of their work to the University of Hawaii as part of the process to come up with a logo for the 10-campus UH system. The UH Board of Regents accepted that recommendation from a subcommittee Friday. A headline and story on Page A3 on Saturday incorrectly stated the recommendation was to accept samples only from local graphics firms or individuals.
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In yesterday's meeting, the UH Board of Regents unanimously accepted a subcommittee recommendation to choose a local graphics firm or individual to design the logo.
The regents agreed to end the contract with Robert Rytter & Associates, the Baltimore company that designed the "wave" and "spectrum" logos spurned by the public and later rejected by UH President Evan Dobelle.
The company received $73,637 of the $82,000 contract, and the university said it will not recoup any money or pay the remainder of the contract.
Local designers would submit their portfolios for a blind review by regents and graphic designers. From there, three finalists will be selected, said regent Kitty Lagareta, a member of the logo subcommittee.
The three finalists would receive a $5,000 stipend each to flesh out a logo design, she said. The winner would receive another $5,000 to finalize the design.
The money awarded to the finalists and winner would come from the sale of logo merchandise and not taxpayer money, Lagareta said.
The university was flooded with criticism in April for its decision to pay $82,000 to the Maryland company to create the logo.
The regents, who said they were not consulted about the logo, appointed a subcommittee to look into the deal.
Momi Cazimero, a graphic designer and former regent, worked on the logo subcommittee to develop the new process.
"I'm very comfortable with the (process) and very pleased they selected this plan," she said.
She expects three-fourths of the local design firms will try to design the new logo.
"People just love this university and want a chance to be a part of the process to market it here and on the mainland," she said.
Cazimero said the selected design should reflect the unique nature of the university and its identity.
Yesterday's Board of Regents meeting was under the direction of new leadership. Patricia Lee, an attorney with Goodsill Anderson Quinn & Stifel, was elected as the new chairwoman. Lagareta was elected as the new vice chairwoman. Lagareta is chief executive of Communications-Pacific Inc. and was recently appointed to the board by Gov. Linda Lingle.
