One of the new logo options for Westfield schools is pictured.

A good logo can do many things, including grabbing attention and creating a brand identity. However, Westfield Academy and Central School Athletic Director Neil Huber hopes the district’s revamped logo will also provide uniformity and foster school pride.

“We are extremely excited and happy with the new logo,” Huber said. “The process was intricate, yet well worth the effort.”

In January, Huber brought the idea creating a standard logo for all organizations to the WACS board of education. He told board members that the current logo lacked uniformity among school groups, even in the shades of blue being used among the various sports and school organizations. “We are looking for a branding guide,” he said. “It would give us control over our logo, create uniformity and create school pride.”

Huber told board members that he had met with representatives from VSP Graphics Group to see what they had to offer. Huber went on to say that VSP could create a standard logo which all organizations would use. However, he said, each organization would be able to tailor the logo to its activity.

At the end of August the board of education approved the new school logo. board President Wendy Dyment noted that the logo becomes the property of the school district and cannot be reproduced without permission from the district.

Students, faculty, staff, as well as outside groups, such as sports boosters and PTO all had input into the reworking of the logo. “The goal is to have all our groups using the same logo going forward, creating unity for our district,” Huber said.

Huber said that the logo is technically not a new one, since it still contains the W for Westfield and the paw print. “It is a reimagination of our old logo, basically bringing the logo into the 21st century,” he said. “VSP gives us copyrights on the logo so we can make it our own.”

The logo will be a symbol for the future of the school as well, Huber said. “We are going to use the logo to not only pump up school spirit, but also as the start of our drive for our upcoming building project,” he said. Huber believes that the new logo will be an important facet of the planned upgrading of district facilities and will help students take pride in their school. “We are slowly changing over some of our social media items to include the new logo,” he added.

Huber said the revamped logo has been well received. “It has already generated excitement in the student body and staff at Westfield,” he said. “We have heard nothing but positive feedback about the logo.”