BYU Cougars Logo PNG
BYU in BYU Cougars stands for Brigham Young University in Utah, USA. It is a well-known and reputable educational organization, which was established in 1875. As for the Cougars, it is the name of the university’s athletic program, formed at the beginning of the 1920s. The program consists of 21 men’s and women’s athletic teams in various sports disciplines including Baseball, Basketball, Tennis, Track and Field, and several more.
Meaning and history
The Brigham Young University was founded in 1875 by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) and was originally called the Brigham Young Academy, after the second president of the United States, who was a Mormon. The university still adheres to its core rules established early in its history, BYU has a strict honor code that requires students and staff to follow religious principles and live a healthy lifestyle.
Brigham Young University’s system of study includes more than 180 bachelor’s degrees and about 80 master’s and doctoral programs. BYU is known for its programs in business, law, education, engineering, arts, and humanities. In addition, the university places great emphasis on sports. In 1922, BYU established an athletic program called the Cougars. The name for the teams was chosen by the first coach, Eugene L. Roberts.
Today BYU Cougars is a varsity of men’s and women’s athletic teams, which compete in the first division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The sports, covered by the athletic program of Brigham Young University include Baseball, Basketball, Football, Soccer, Cross Country, Golf, and many more. The most successful discipline of the program is Basketball. The BYU Cougars men’s basketball team is ranked among the top 25 clubs in the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
In terms of visual identity, the BYU Cougars are fresh and laconic. The logo of the program has been based on the combination of blue and white shades since the very beginning, however, the first versions were more ornate, and today the badge has come to a perfect balance of minimalism, clean shapes, and strength.
1957 – 1982
The BYU Cougars badge, designed in 1957, featured a contoured drawing of a cougar’s head in a stripped hat with the white “BYU” abbreviation on it. The drawing was executed in a bright blue and white color palette and had no framing or additional text on it. This version of the logo stayed active for longer than two decades.
1982 – 1999
The redesign of 1982 has introduced a more modern and sleek emblem for the theorem of Brigham Young University. The BYU abbreviation was now moved to the center of the composition, written in massive geometric serif capitals in solid blue, with a double blue and white outline. As for the mascot of the program, the cougar was drawn on top of the lettering, with a white silhouette outlined in blue.
1999 – 2010
In 1999 more colors were added to the BYU Cougars logo. The wild cat turned bronze and blue, gaining more realistic details. It was now set on top of a stylized mountain in the same color palette, which was growing up from the geometric serif lettering, set in two levels at the bottom of the composition. The additional wordmark was placed under in, in the extended type with a lot of space between the characters.
2010 – 2021
The version from 2010 is much more progressive and cool. All the unnecessary details were removed, and now the badge of the BYU Cougars program turned into a solid blue oval medallion, set horizontally, with just one symbol on it, a bold stretched capital “Y” in a classy serif font. The serifs on the character are arched, repeating the contours of the medallion.
2021 – Today
The redesign of 2021 has kept the concept and style of the previous badge, but slightly refined the shape and size of the white “Y”, making it a bit smaller and more compact. Now the logo of the athletic program from Brigham Young University looks very elegant and balanced, yet at the same time strong and full of determination.
Font and color
The visual identity of the BYU Cougars is based on a graphical emblem with a stylized white “Y” inscribed into it, and this is the only character on the badge since there is no additional lettering on the primary version. The “Y” is set in a unique serif font with arched bars, which has no commercial analogs.
As for the color palette of the BYU Cougars’ visual identity, it is based on a fresh and cold combination of a dark shade of blue and white, which looks simple, yet full of power and confidence.
