Among the many new activities 和 Poly spirit-inducing events taking place at 2021年回国, the one we’re most excited about is the 蓝色的魔鬼. After more than 50 years, our Poly 蓝色的魔鬼 mascot design is getting its first refresh.

起源的故事

1968年1月, Poly students held a contest to pick a mascot for the school to boost enthusiasm around athletics. A small committee came up with ideas 和 took suggestions from the student body. 学生 voted in their homerooms 和 on February 9, it was announced in the Chapel that the 蓝色的魔鬼, 提供的 马丁·卡菲娜，71年, got the most votes. Poly had a new nickname 和 shortly thereafter, a new student-created design, the one we all know today.

为什么要改变?

“It’s unusual for a mascot design to remain unchanged for more than 50 years,” shared 詹妮弗Slomack, Poly’s Director of Engagement & 通信. “通常, a mascot is refined or refreshed over time so that it evolves along with the institution it represents 和 can adapt to modern communication methods.” She went on, “the Poly of 1968 is very different from the Poly of 2021. That devil design predates girls being able to enroll 和 the addition of seven 较低的学校 grades 和 many other significant changes. We were overdue for a thoughtful refresh.” 

Slomack led the internal committee 和 worked with the br和 agency, 喜欢纽约, 和 award-winning illustrator 肯Niimura, in a process that spanned four months—from the first creative brief to an entire new sub-br和 around the devil. “It’s not just one design,” Slomack said. “In addition to the creative m和atories that inform the devil’s appearance, flexibility 和 expansiveness were also part of the deliverables.” There are now multiple marks, 标志, 图形元素, 和 spaces for customization that students can use to visualize their Poly 蓝色的魔鬼 activities. “很长一段时间, the mascot was used mainly for athletics, but this new design was created to serve Poly stories across all divisions 和 disciplines.”

偷窥 

The first students to see the new design were Ryantony Exuma, 22岁 和 Zoe Feuer ' 22， Student Government President 和 Vice President, respectively. Slomack said, “I showed Zoe 和 Ryan the designs as we worked on the Homecoming shirt. Doing the reveal for them was the only time in the process I was nervous. When I opened the file, Zoe’s first reaction was, ‘I love it!’ 和 that made my day.在一次采访中, 封地说, “I’m excited that we can use different options to fit different events or departments. I hope the students embrace this change because the new devil is, in my opinion, way more fun. I also love how there is a specific 蓝色的魔鬼 for the 较低的学校. [Spoiler: there is a 蓝色的魔鬼 for 较低的学校.] I want the seniors to be proud to be the first class to graduate with this new devil.”

“You wouldn’t wear the same suit you wore 50 years ago…”

A Poly alumnus 和 veteran physical education faculty member 和 Varsity 女子篮球 coach seemed like a good person to ask about this new version of the Poly 蓝色的魔鬼. Mike Junsch ’71, P’94, ‘95 who is celebrating his 50th Reunion at Homecoming, made the great point that “styles change.” “You wouldn’t wear the same suit you wore 50 years ago,” he said. “Other schools have updated their mascots recently. 这很令人兴奋.”

接下来是什么?

The big reveal will happen at 2021年回国 where every student will get a free T-shirt with the new devils. Expect to see 蓝色的魔鬼 design rolling out across Poly throughout the year, including new mascot costumes. This month we’ll feature an interview with 肯Niimura, about the process of modernizing our mascot. Slomack plans to work with students on names for the characters 和 an origin story that Niimura can bring to life in a mini graphic novel.