Walking into UTD’s campus bookstore and looking at the merch, I wondered if the designers had just copied and pasted “University of Texas at Dallas” over and over without realizing they could change the font. All the Sans Serif text is reminiscent of designs made in Microsoft Paint circa 2003. To grow school pride, students should at least be able to wear UTD merchandise without worrying about how to create a cohesive outfit out of incomprehensible, incompatible colors. The bitter truth is that UTD’s merchandise is boring and doesn’t represent the creativity and pride of its students, and at worst, it damages our school spirit.
A comfortable, easy-to-wear article of clothing is an essential for everyone’s closet, and at other universities, collegiate apparel — whether it’s shirts, sweaters or even jerseys — is commonplace. The market for collegiate wear is booming, especially in Texas, where football is embedded so heavily into the culture. It’s not uncommon to see people decked out in burnt orange after a game, regardless of whether they attend UT Austin. But on campus, I’ve seen more people repping the Longhorns than the Comets.
Within the UTD apparel sold at the campus bookstore, there’s a total of 645 clothing items and accessories for men and 312 for women, including a shirt proudly stating “FOOTBALL UNDEFEATED SINCE 1969.” The joke is that UTD doesn’t have a football team, proving the school is nominally aware of what makes up campus culture. Beyond that, though, the merch offered can’t find the slightest cultural point to meaningfully grab onto.
But just because UTD doesn’t have a strong sports culture doesn’t mean that there isn’t any culture at all. UTD is known for its STEM programs, an emphasis on esports and our mascot, Temoc. It fits perfectly in a school whose primary focus is in innovation, creativity and reaching for the stars. Does this mean I want a shirt with Temoc’s face on it? Of course not. But UTD does have culture, and the bland designs being sold don’t reflect any of it. It’s generally difficult to feel like a school of innovation when the only “creativity” our shirts and sweatshirts employ is the restating of our school’s branding with a slight variation in the color.
I’m astonished at how, even though both UTD and UT utilize an orange color, they incorporate it with drastically different results. Maybe it’s my personal vendetta against pairings of orange and green but the stark contrast between the bright shade of safety orange, or rather, “UT Dallas orange,” and the cooler tone of green is a problem in itself. But when placed against a neutral backdrop, it gets worse.
A major problem making the merch unfashionable isn’t that the colors are a primary part of the branding; rather, it’s the fact that the merchandise is trying to use all of UTD’s colors at once — like it’s trying to overcompensate for the fact that no one wants to wear it.
UTD is obligated to abide by a set of brand standards that’ve been developed over time. Brand standards are meant to unify an organization by providing a cohesive visual identity. It promotes consistency across print and digital platforms as well as through a multitude of units. There’s a multitude of colors that can be used in accordance with the brand standards; there’s just no effort to implement them. As a UT System institution, UTD is obligated to incorporate the orange shade in order to align itself with the rest of the system. The green shade, however, is uniquely Comet, derived from the olive and oak branches that are on UTD’s official seal.
There’s a total of three shades of green and three shades of blue that exist within UTD’s brand standards. Many of these shades have yet to grace UTD’s bookstore. A monochromatic sweater based around the green and blue shades would be a step in the right direction. Personally, I love a vintage-looking sweater shirt and would love to see those with that theme in UTD’s merch.
A fleece crew neck sold by UT shows how orange and green can exist together without having to fight for attention. The washed out look of the colors and the incorporation of the school’s name, along with its date of establishment and mascot at the center of the sweatshirt, merge UT’s present and past. Future designs could incorporate themes of the olive branch, maybe use UTD’s official logo or incorporate stars as an accessory to the comet that represents the school. Diluting the shades just a bit gives it that easy, comfortable washed-in look that not only makes merchandise look better but also makes it easier to wear.
In theory, a sweatshirt saying “MIT of the South” would probably sell well — but it would also designate UTD as second-grade in more than just our designing efforts. Instead, UTD must take it upon itself to portray its student culture in a different way. UTD needs to stop pretending it’s cool and lean into the nerdiness. UTD’s student body is called the “Comets,” which could be reflected in astronomical designs involving planets and constellations. UTD’s prowess in esports could be reflected in pixel art designs. Elements of retro and futuristic aesthetics in their apparel could be used to reflect its innovation in education and research. There’s a real Comet culture flourishing over the years here, but UTD ignores it by trying too hard to define itself through imitating other schools.
To hear the opinions of students, UTD could hold a design contest for student-based and student-designed merchandise. UTD’s Student Union and Activities Advisory Board could help in planning, creating guidelines and ensuring compliance with brand standards. Theming could revolve around space or science, instead of who can write “Comets!” in the best font.
UTD departments have already held similar events in the past, such as the Crow Museum’s shirt design competition during this semester’s Art-a-thon. Engaging with students could help produce items that students would be willing to buy. They would build pride and connection within the school, lessening the lack of spirit on campus.
There’s a major disconnect between what is being sold and what makes UTD so unique. If UTD can send Comets into cyberspace, surely it can make a hoodie that doesn’t look like clip art.