Local student leads school district’s new branding campaign

BRIDGEPORT, Ohio — The blue bulldog’s look is getting a standardized look, and one of Bridgeport Exempted Village School District’s own students is in charge, according to Bridgeport Superintendent Brent Ripley.

Maddie Matusik, senior and member of the interactive media class, is tackling the district’s new branding campaign to ensure the school’s logos and communications are uniform.

She gave a report of her progress during the board of education’s April 24 meeting.

Matusik said there are more than 10 different logos used around the school, including different angles of a bulldog’s head and of the full body.

“With the opening of our school over a century ago, many different logos have been used to identify our district,” she said. “We still use these old logos all around our school.”

She emphasized the importance of a consistent, recognizable, and professional brand.

“Our logo is the primary visual expression that we use to identify Bridgeport schools. It’s also the most instantly recognizable part of our brand and serves as the face of our district,” she said.

Superintendent Brent Ripley told the board he had noticed numerous different variants of the bulldog and the B logo and text, whether in jerseys or school communications.

“I just felt it was time to streamline on this,” he said. “This needed to be done for a while.”

Matusik proposed a block-B letter be used as the main logo for school communications, with the more recent side-view of the bulldog’s head for communications related to athletics. She is currently working on a new full-body bulldog logo to match the head.

Her presentation also included approved versions of the school colors of blue, black and white, along with fonts for digital and physical production of the logo.

She also proposed a standardized paw print.

Matusik has been working on the project since February, and the proposed final version is expected to be completed by mid-May. She said the finished logos would be downloaded to the district website.

“We will also be coming out with a promotional video to share our new official branding guidelines,” she said.

The local shops that produce athletic gear and the area news outlets will be provided with the official brand.

There was a lighthearted moment when board members who attended school at different years pointed to the prior logos Matusik had provided as examples and recalled one or another as “their” bulldog. They thanked Matusik for her work.

Ripley said the board would provide more feedback to Matusik for the final revisions.

“It’s something that’s needed done for a long time.”

You can visit the website HERE. bridgeportschools.net .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTRF.