KANSAN.COM
ARTS & CULTURE
+
arts & culture
KANSAN.COM/ARTS_AND_CULTURE MONDAY, JUNE 27, 2016
New campus police SUVs feature student-designed logo
KU Police now have new Ford SUV patrol cars. The logo was designed by a University student.
Alex Robinson/KANSAN
▶ MATT KAUFMAN
@kattmaufman
The University of Kansas campus police are sporting a brand new look this summer thanks to the work of a KU student. Sophomore graphic design student Jake Crawford created the new campus police vehicles' logo in one of his classes.
"Jeremy Shellhorn, our professor, arranged it to be a project for all 50 sophomore students in the graphics program," Crawford said. "It was great because we were all just having fun with it."
"This quick assignment challenged students to design with strict parameters," Professor Shellhorn said. "Such as the type of car in use, and KU's visual identity standards."
The police department has been looking for student input on designs as far back as 2011. Students created the designs outside of class, and elements of them were used for the previous Dodge Charger campus police cars.
Crawford and other students in the classes all designed their own logos for police department, totaling more than 40 submissions. Crawford, who is studying product design, took the class to diversify his portfolio.
Interim Chief of Police Chris Keary contacted Shellhorn again this past year, and Shellhorn incorporated the new logo designs as a project for his classes.
"Previously, each car design was done within the department," said Keary. "In January, I did presentations where I showed past cars and designs, and provided our current design criteria. Everyone in the classes provided a design."
A team of officers and sergeants evaluated all of the designs and chose Crawford's.
Crawford took outside help to point him in the right direction for his design.
"The first iteration came from a conversation I had with a police officer about the flaws in the current vehicle," Crawford said. "From that interview I learned that the drastic stripes were too loud and didn't allow the police to carry out certain duties that require a more subtle approach."
The four new white SUVs are all sporting Crawford's new logo - a big blue stripe with a subtle digital camo pattern and 'Police' highlighted in big white block letters. The Jayhawk logo is prominently displayed on both sides.
"I initially had a lot larger camo blocks, inspired by the basketball team's shorts a few years back," Crawford said. "After refinements and compromises with the police, the camo became more subdued and I landed on the final design."
The new police SUVs, which debuted in May, are a switch from the recognizable sedans that have patrolled campus in recent years.
"We deeply appreciate
the opportunity to receive student input on the design," said Keary. "This is a win-win for everyone involved."
While Crawford is proud of his design being chosen, he said it will be difficult for him to continually see the logo around campus.
"It'll be hard for me because it's just in my nature to want to revise and evolve the design," Crawford said.
"We deeply appreciate the opportunity to receive student input on the design."
Chris Keary Interim chief of police
+