There you have it. The new logo for the academic side of Wake Forest, scheduled to be released next Wednesday, April 30, was found today on the official Wake Forest website somewhat hidden (but not very well) in documents for next year's freshmen.

A couple of important things to mention:

1. This logo is not in any way affiliated with the branding of the athletics side of Wake Forest. It is for the academic side of things, replacing the logo that featured the university's name between black and gold bars.
2. I don't take credit for being the one to find this logo. Members of the DeaconSports message board community (WakeGal was first I believe) found the logo today by clicking on the 2008-2009 Undergraduate Bulletin link on this page of the school's website. I have also heard that it was on display today at the "All Access" event in Charlotte with President Hatch, Jim Grobe, Dino Gaudio, and new Calloway Dean Steve Reinemund.
   

This morning President Hatch sent an email out to the entire campus notifying us of the presentation being made on April 30. He called this the "Visual Identity Project," and said that "this project will strengthen the implementation of our strategic plan and includes a new logo as well as specific standards that will help all of us in developing printed and electronic communications. We are very enthusiastic about how this will help all of us communicate the many strengths of Wake Forest."

Although many on the message boards have been critical of the new design, I personally don't have a problem with it. I think it is a fine upgrade to the previous logo. I suppose it may evoke thoughts of the Volkswagen logo and some have said that finding an "F" in the shield is a bit difficult, but all in all I don't have any real problem with it.

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure they were looking for it to look like a "WF." Some had said it looks like some of the arches on campus, others that it looks like trees, etc. "WF" may be the first thing people think of, but there may be more to it. I'm interested to hear what Hatch has to say about it next week.

I'd be interested to hear from those who do have a problem with it (as well as those who don't) about what really bothers them about it. When I imagine someone not affiliated with Wake Forest seeing this logo I do not imagine them thinking it looks bad in any way.

That's just one man's opinion. I'd love to hear what others think, so leave a comment below.