New Red Dragon illustrations and secondary marks available

02/11/2020 

For imaginary animals, dragons have a pretty diverse community.

Some breathe fire, terrorize villages and snack on hobbits. Others are cuddly and cute and star in children’s shows. Some look like plodding, medieval dinosaurs while others are elegant, snake-like serpents twisting across cartons of takeout food. Dragons can be mute or verbose. They range from the size of jet airliners to the dimensions of St. Bernard puppies and come in all the colors of the rainbow.

But there is only one SUNY Cortland Red Dragon.

Until last fall, the official version of that dragon only existed in the university’s athletics logos, which are strictly limited to athletics and some alumni and admissions uses.

Now, Red Dragons are available to all members of the university community.

A variety of new illustrations and a secondary mark, both featuring the Red Dragon, have been released for promotional materials, social events, informational campaigns, apparel and other uses.

“We knew there was great demand for the Red Dragon image, but we lacked an alternative to the athletics marks,” said Tracy Rammacher, director of SUNY Cortland’s Marketing Office. “That’s why we created the new secondary mark, as well as illustrations of our Red Dragon in various poses. We also have a youth dragon and individualized details, such as dragon eyes and footprints.”

The whole range of options, all of which are consistent with SUNY Cortland’s graphic identity, are available online through the university’s Marketing/Communications Toolkit or through its image database.

Rules for how these images may be used are outlined in the campus Communication Guide. These rules help strengthen the university’s brand and ensure that its unique Red Dragon design is consistently symbolic of SUNY Cortland and only SUNY Cortland. To that end, it is recommended that the university’s primary logo, which does not include a dragon, and official fonts be used in conjunction with the illustrations and details whenever possible.

The guidelines also help maintain a clear distinction between SUNY Cortland’s academic offerings and official business communications, as well as social, recreational and educational activities that occur outside the classroom. That’s why the illustrations and details may never serve as a primary identifier for schools, departments, offices, centers or institutes.

The new Red Dragon images were designed to give users flexibility, and some include a thought bubble, sign or flag that can be used for customized messages. Apart from that, the drawing itself cannot be changed.

Available illustrations include a thinking dragon, a flying dragon, a dragon giving a thumbs-up, and a dragon on all fours. There are two youth dragons aimed at children 12 and younger, as well as dragon tracks, tail, eyes, claws and scales. There are three individual dragon heads — one fierce like the athletics mark, one that’s more friendly and engaging and one that faces forward.

Last fall, SUNY Cortland’s Marketing Committee unveiled a new secondary mark consisting of a revised Red Dragon head inside of a letter “C” as part of its updated marketing and communications plan.  The group also presented a new badge featuring the Red Dragon head that can be used for items such as non-academic awards. Both of those elements are accessible through the Marketing/Communications Toolkit.

For more information, contact the Marketing Office by email or at 607-753-2519.