Finalists have been selected to come to UND’s campus to present their plan to design the Fighting Hawks logo. The UND Graphic Identity RFP Evaluation and Recommendation Team met last Thursday to discuss the future of the logo and agreed during executive session, that three firms, Phoenix Design Works, SME Inc. and Summit Athletics Media will be invited to UND early this week to give oral presentations. Following the presentations, the team will discuss the merits of the final applicants and make a recommendation to Interim President Schafer, who makes the final decision. During last week’s meeting, Jana Thompson, UND’s purchasing director and non-voting member of the team, informed the team that choosing three firms in this sort of situation is standard.

After brief discussion, the team voted that the top three firms should be invited for presentations, with a process in place that would replace the any applicants who drop out with the next highest ranked team. At the end of the meeting, there were several minor changes made to how the oral presentations will be conducted. The firms can take up to two hours, with a 45 minute limit on the presentation itself and the rest of the time allotted for a question and answer session. The firms will be asked about past experiences they’ve had that could be applied specifically to their potential work at UND.

Additionally, firms will be asked to elaborate on their approach to project management and how this will be applied at UND. The Q&A portion of the oral presentations will a relatively fluid process, with the team asking questions based on their particular concerns and inquiries for individual. The presentations by the selected firms to the team will not be open to the public, but the results of the team’s deliberations will be announced at their conclusion. At that time, the team will submit their recommendation to Interim President Schafer, who will make the final decision on which firm will design the Fighting Hawk’s logo. The university plans on having the logo process completed by this summer so the logo can be used by athletic teams beginning in the fall. Phoenix Design Works, SME Inc. and Summit Athletics Media all are located in the northeastern United States; they are located in New Jersey, New York and North Carolina respectively. All three have a wide variety of previous experience creating collegiate logos and other accompanying designs, according to their websites.

Sean Cleary is the Editor-in-Chief for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected]