Being the man or woman behind a famous mascot is not a walk in the park. Aside from wearing such oven-like suits, your main responsibility is to entertain the crowd regardless of age or gender. To matters more severe, some organizations ask for more – passion or obsession.

This is exactly the values needed by the University of Florida for anyone who wants to play the role of their infamous Gator mascots Albert and Alberta.

The cuddly Albert has been the official mascot since 1970. Before that, a live alligator named Albert was the first official mascot in 1957. It was replaced by a mechanical alligator robot for a time until Albert the alligator mascot arrived. Alberta came in 1986 as sidekick.

Every year the university holds a try out to determine the ultimate Gator fans. Scrutinized by 7 judges, each aspiring candidate must perform some skits and undergo interviews to assess their improvisational skills.

Albert and Alberta do have several duties to perform. Aside from the regular football games and parades, they also attend birthdays, anniversaries, and even weddings across Florida. Vacation is out of the option for they must still be present during holiday breaks. A 2.5 grade-point average is also a must.

What’s in it for the “lucky” candidate? Aside from the honor of representing his or her alma mater, they are paid $350 per hour for private events or $250 if only one Gator is present. For university events, a discounted rate of $175 an hour for the couple. More importantly, they are entitled to partial scholarships.

via The Ocala

Every time you plan to insert a logo of another company in your Website or printed materials, you should seek permission from that company or consult with an experienced legal expert first. If not, you may end up like this case below.

Angie’s List, a membership service that compiles consumer ratings of local service companies and contractors in multiple cities across the United States, has filed a trademark infringement lawsuit against its rival company Ameritech Publishing for using its cartoon character servicewoman logo.

The company claims their ratings were published by Ameritech in yellow-page telephone directory listings of the businesses without their permission. Moreover, the logo of a servicewoman giving a thumbs-up has also appeared in print ads of some companies offering services such as gutter repair, plumbing and glass installation.

Though Ameritech assured the company that they will no longer use the logo, they failed to remove it in their most recent 2007-2008 Yellow Pages directory.

Angie’s List demands that Ameritech must give part of the revenues generated from sales of its Yellow Pages. An alternative is to recall and destroy all Yellow Pages directories containing the servicewoman logo, a very difficult remedy which will not likely prosper in court.

Via Indiana Law Blog

You might remember our post last month about how caricatures can help identify criminals better. But do you know that caricatures can also affect your brand? Seth Godin, a famous marketing guru and co-founder of blogging platform Squidoo, believes the same concept also applies to business.

The best brands are caricatures of their true selves. Yes, they must have exceptional ‘features’ (a step that’s easy to skip, but without which leads to failure) but then, over time, those features become a caricature. During the formative days of Fedex, the caricature was that their drivers would even rent a helicopter to get just one package delivered on time. It’s easy to turn Starbucks’ variety and focus on your needs into a caricature as well, “half-caf, extra hot, short macchiato, extra foam, with soy, in a ceramic mug….”

In creating caricatures, you exaggerate some prominent facial features of a person. In running a small business, you can overstress your key competencies like excellent customer service, low price or product superiority. If you’re a running a small business which is very dependent on your personal image, you might also want to include your caricature in your business card. All these efforts will help make your brand or image memorable to the heart and minds of your target market.

You may also want to check some caricature samples we created here a Logo Design Works.

Photo via andsuchandsuch

Whether you are the Web designer or the client, your end goal is the same – improve Web user experience. Given the multitude of competitors online, you have to make sure every online visitor enjoys and stays as long as possible to your site. Of course, the key is to understand the needs your target market. Still, here are some general tips to improve your site:

1. Simplify. Make things a lot simpler for your visitors by automating some of the processes and providing relevant tools. It will help your visitors focus on their tasks. Below is one of the calculators provided by financial rate information company Bankrate.com to help their online visitors.



2. Create a habit. Human beings are creatures of habit that’s why most of us find it very hard to change. Knowing this human tendency, your Web site should also train users to do any task in similar manner. Repetition is a very important aspect here. Your checkout, for example, must follow the same process and click the same commands to avoid confusion or frustration.
3. Include Printing Options. Since many online users are comfortable reading articles and making their notes on paper, there should be an option for them to print the articles they want properly. This is important for a site with many articles or blog posts such as newspapers. Every article in The New York Times has print, save, e-mail, and share options for the benefit of their readers.

Today, many schools nationwide are criticized for using American Indian as part of their logos and mascots. Several schools have already changed their designs to avoid possible conflict with concerned groups.

This situation is somewhat similar with Terre Haute South Vigo High School in Indiana. Known as the “home of the Braves”, the school has decided to do away the American Indian head and replace it with an arrowhead logo. However, the old logo might still appear in some materials such as curriculum guide or athletic schedules.

Unlike other schools that encountered conflict with the community, the logo makeover came from the initiative of the people behind this high school. The decision to phase out the American Indian head was made as early 1998 but there is no definite deadline for its full implementation. Still, the committee has decided to retain the name “Braves”.

Overall, the feedback on the new logo is positive and without much hesitation from any group. Some people however cannot understand the reason for banning American Indian as logo or mascot. Though it is clearly explained that it might tarnish their culture, some think using them is a way to honor that culture.

Via The Tribune-Star