UH bid process
in logo deal
questionedRules call for three finalists,
while the school viewed six
The University of Hawaii did not follow its own bid process during the selection of a Maryland firm to design a new UH logo last year, according to a legal opinion from the university's lawyers.
The request for proposals, or RFP, to design the logo stated that after an initial review and ranking of the bids received, the top three companies would be invited to make an in-person presentation.
But instead of the top three designers, the top six firms were invited to the semifinal competition, opening the door for the company that eventually won the contract.
Robert Rytter & Associates initially finished fifth of the 14 companies that submitted bids. After final presentations, Rytter won an $82,000 contract to design the logo -- a contract that was later canceled after mostly negative public reaction to Rytter's "Wave" and "Spectrum" designs. Rytter was paid $73,637 before the contract was canceled earlier this year.
In a Dec. 3, 2003, memo to the Board of Regents subcommittee on the UH logo, university Vice President for Legal Affairs Walter Kirimitsu wrote, "The change from the top three to the top six for interviews was not in legal compliance with the Request for Proposals."
Kate Wester, director of public relations and special events for the university and a member of the selection committee, denied that the committee broke procurement rules.
"The selection committee followed the counsel and advice of the UH procurement office -- no contract would have been entered into without their approval. The bottom line is the process was created and altered in the best interest of the university and for no other reason," she wrote in an e-mail to the Star-Bulletin.
Wester said the pool of semifinalists was expanded to include Osaki Design, the firm that designed the athletic department's "H" logo, and Stuart McKee Design, which came in sixth in the initial judging. One of the principals in Stuart McKee Design is a UH art professor, Wester said.
"To be open and inclusive and to do the best job for the university, we definitely felt expanding the group was the best thing to do," Wester said.
Dale Vermeer, of Dale Vermeer Design, a Honolulu-based firm that came in second in the initial evaluation, said he thought it was "unfair" that the university expanded the competition to six firms.
However, Ann Harakawa, of Two Twelve Harakawa, Inc., in New York City, which finished first in the initial review, said expanding the finalists "didn't seem out of the ordinary to us."
Harakawa, a 1974 Punahou School graduate, said it often happens in the private sector, but "because it's a state contract, it may be more scrutinized."
Clarence Lee, of Clarence Lee Design and Associates, the Honolulu firm that came in third in the initial evaluation, said he was surprised when the Maryland firm got the final contract, but said he did not pay much attention to the selection process.
"I did not realize that they circumvented the contract. We just thought that we gave it our best shot," Lee said.
University Vice President for External Relations Paul Costello said neither he nor university President Evan Dobelle knew Rytter before his firm bid on the logo design. He said Rytter did some work for Trinity College, but it was before Dobelle became president there.
Last year, after announcing the selection of Robert Rytter & Associates, Costello said that the company was not solicited and found out about the design competition on the Internet. He said the firm was selected based on their experience working with more than 100 colleges and universities.
Robert Rytter & Associates was the only firm among the six semifinalists that did not have a connection to Hawaii. The other companies were either based here or had principals who were from Hawaii.
Wester said the initial 14 bids were evaluated by a selection committee that consisted of herself; Costello; Phil Kinnicutt, UH system director of marketing and brand management; Cheryl Ernst, UH system creative services director; Michael Tamaru, UH system publications manager; Susan Lee, marketing coordinator for community colleges; and Gloria Garvey and Brook Gramann, of the Brand Strategy Group.
The initial bids were awarded points based on the firms' experience in corporate identity programs, knowledge of Hawaii and the Asia-Pacific region, experience in graphic design in a multicultural setting, the proposal itself and the cost.
The six semifinalists made presentations to the committee and were given points based on examples of how the company successfully created and managed the corporate identity of a large organization, other creative work by the company and the ability of the company to establish rapport and confidence among the university's marketing and communications team.
The scores from the initial review and the presentation were added up, and the top two firms answered additional questions via e-mail, before the committee unanimously selected Robert Rytter & Associates, Wester said.
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UH offers candidates
$10,000 for logo proposals
The University of Hawaii is moving ahead with efforts to design a logo and brand identity, and hopes to have a new logo by this summer, a UH official said.
Phil Kinnicutt, UH systems director of marketing and brand management, said the administration has been working with a Board of Regents subcommittee to come up with a new process to select a design firm.
He said they are refining a proposal from the subcommittee and hope in February to present to the board a process to select the firm.
The subcommittee suggested that firms who want to design the logo submit their portfolios and qualifications to a committee for review. The top three candidates would receive a $5,000 stipend to design a logo. Then, the committee would select a final design, and the winning firm would get $5,000 more to refine their proposal.
Kinnicutt said the university would reserve the right to reject all of the final designs and start all over again if the committee decides none of the logos are right for UH.
Kinnicutt said the $10,000 fee, as compared with the larger contracts awarded last year, should still attract bidders.
"Everybody wants to help the university," he said.
