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Brett S. Traylor Creative Direction & Design

Princeton University Athletics

Brett completed this project during his time as associate partner on Team Bierut at Pentagram.

We developed a flexible and sophisticated brand identity for Princeton University Athletics — one of the country’s oldest and most prestigious collegiate programs. Instead of gimmicky cartoon characters, Princeton’s Tiger is represented by a series of four confidently posed silhouettes inspired by sculptures found across their idyllic campus.

The remaining four images depict tPhoto of football helmet with Princeton “P” on dark grey background.

People forget that the Ivy League was instituted to grow interest in college sports at its advent in the 1930s. So even though Princeton is now much better known for academics, it has an amazing athletics legacy. In fact, almost 1 in 5 undergraduate students play a varsity sport at Princeton.

Brett Traylor, Executive Creative Director, Bst.

Pri Rowers 2
Images of the standalone, Princeton “P” in various color treatments and styles—including tiger stripes.
Images of the standalone, Princeton “P” in various color treatments and styles—including tiger stripes.
Images of the standalone, Princeton “P” in various color treatments and styles—including tiger stripes.
Images of the standalone, Princeton “P” in various color treatments and styles—including tiger stripes.

After more than 125 years, Princeton finally got its very own “P”. Although it may not sound like much, having Penn as an Ivy League rival can make things confusing. The custom-drawn letterform is distinctive, solid, and comes in a variety of colors and patterns, including tiger stripes.

The top photo depicts the iconic sculptures, Pair of tigers, found on Princeton’s campus.
Images depicting the Tiger silhouettes drawn in four different poses—Clio, Palmer, Jadwin, and Henry.
Images depicting the Tiger silhouettes drawn in four different poses—Clio, Palmer, Jadwin, and Henry.
Images depicting the Tiger silhouettes drawn in four different poses—Clio, Palmer, Jadwin, and Henry.
Images depicting the Tiger silhouettes drawn in four different poses—Clio, Palmer, Jadwin, and Henry.

Eschewing the modern, cartoonish approach to college mascots, we introduced a series of four confidently posed silhouettes, inspired by familiar sculptures.

The top photo depicts four males, whose faces are not fully visible. They each are wearing the same uniform: black shorts and black and orange singlets that contain the word “Princeton” printed on the front in capitalized, black letters, along with the Nike Swoosh. Athletic bibs are adhered to the front of their singlets.
Images depicting the words “Princeton” in a variety of designed treatments.
Images depicting the words “Princeton” in a variety of designed treatments.
Images depicting the words “Princeton” in a variety of designed treatments.
Images depicting the words “Princeton” in a variety of designed treatments.

Emphasizing legibility, strength, and simplicity, the Princeton name is set in an all-caps sans-serif font. To add variety, arched and outlined options were also introduced. The logotype can be modified to represent the school in general, or a specific sport or team.

The top photo depicts a hockey player on ice whose athletic jersey bears the Princeton black, orange, and white shield.
Images depicting the black, orange, and white Princeton shield in a variety of ways.
Images depicting the black, orange, and white Princeton shield in a variety of ways.
Images depicting the black, orange, and white Princeton shield in a variety of ways.
Images depicting the black, orange, and white Princeton shield in a variety of ways.

Like many Ivy League schools, and academia in general, Princeton University uses a shield as one of its identifiers. Within the athletics identity, the classic shield was redrawn and modified to accept the full range of iconography, including the “P”, the logotype, and the tiger silhouettes. This provides individual sports and teams with another means for distinguishing themselves while still staying true to the program overall.