AUBURN, Alabama — Auburn University is spending at least $30,000 to a design firm for its new logo and visual identity system, according to an open records request provided Friday morning to Auburn Undercover.

The university responded to an open records request concerning costs surrounding the development of the new tweaks to the “AU” shield and “visual identity system.”

Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, a New York design firm, is providing the university consultation through 2019 for $30,000, but that may not be the total cost associated with the new logo and creation of new fonts, according to the contract signed earlier this year.

“Any specific design tasks will be estimated separately," according to the contract. The contract is at least $30,000 and would likely rise if the company was asked for hands-on creation of the logo going beyond consultation. The contract also states the firm is acting in support of another contract: "Visual Identities Implementation." The contractor is providing “ongoing art direction and creative input on implementation.” Payments will be made in $5,000 increments over the course of the agreement which runs from July 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019.

Auburn Undercover has asked for further clarification and related costs, but that request was not immediately returned.

It’s also not clear how much cash Auburn spent in its first step implementing the new logo, which already adorns a new building for the Raymond Harbert Business College — or how much money the university had already spent through other mediums such as brochures.

AuburnUndercover.com reported Thursday the university had placed its new logo and "visual identity system" on a hold as it seeks feedback from "stakeholders," the university said in a statement.

The new "AU" shield logo had drawn mixed reactions from fans since it was leaked to the public in August. The university planned to slowly roll out the logo and font system over time, but that plan has been "temporarily postponed" as the university seeks more guidance. The statement to Auburn Undercover comes on the heels of the university's student government president telling the student senate the new logo had been scrapped.

The university responded in an email Thursday to Auburn Undercover:

"Auburn is constantly looking for ways to elevate the university’s instruction, research and outreach missions in the eyes of the Auburn Family and those unfamiliar with Auburn. As part of our efforts, we sought experts in the branding and design field to develop recommendations to help us raise Auburn’s profile and optimize the way we communicate our brand across all mediums, especially digital. "The visual representation of the Auburn University brand, or our visual identity system, includes an update to Auburn’s overlapping AU logo and guidelines for font sizes, styles and pairings; for using the logo with the university’s name, or wordmark; and for applying the elements of the system in a way that unites all facets of the university through a cohesive and consistent look across today’s many varied platforms. "The recommendations are not yet mandated. Although some campus units have begun using the new mark, we have temporarily postponed implementation of the AU logo within the new system to allow opportunity for continued dialogue with stakeholders. Since the updated system was designed and intended to coexist with the current system, preliminary uses of the system will remain in place, and for the time being, Auburn will continue to use the current AU logo that is already prevalent on campus."

Rumors of the newly-developed logo being scrapped after an uproar from alumni and boosters have swirled since September.

Student Government Association president Mary Margaret Turton said Ronald Burgess, Auburn University's chief operating officer, told her the university will stick with its traditional logo at a meeting of the student senate earlier this week.

"Because we’ve had conversations regarding the visual identity system for the past few weeks in here, I do want to share an update that I got this morning," Turton said, according to the Auburn Plainsman. "General Burgess announced that we will not be moving forward with the new logo this morning. We have plans from that directive to continue using the traditional Auburn logo, so I just wanted to share that."

The new logo was shared among department heads in August and a source shared it with Auburn Undercover.

The new logo utilized the traditional "AU" shield framework, but closed the white space between the "A" and "U" to provide more focus on the "A" for Auburn. The "U" in the logo was also shorter in height than in the previous version.

The new design was leaked to Auburn Undercover and confirmed by Auburn University in an email correspondence Aug. 8.

"Auburn updated its visual identity system to make it compatible with the many ways, especially digital, in which it is now used and to help us further elevate the Auburn brand," said Mike Clardy, the university's assistant vice president for communications said in an email at the time. "It’s in fact already in partial use."

As rumors spread of the new logo being shelved, Auburn Undercover asked university spokesmen Sept. 20 if the logo would not be used, but the university did not respond to the email.

The logo was first utilized at the Raymond Harbert College of Business on campus. A university spokesperson said in August the athletics department would slowly implement the new insignia. Auburn debuted a new commercial for the university in August, and utilized the font associated with the new "visual identity system," but included the traditional "AU" shield and not the updated version.

The new decal has also not appeared on Auburn athletics apparel or helmets. Equipment with the original logo created in 1966 had already been ordered for the upcoming seasons in most sports by the time the new design was developed.

The athletics and academics logos are below. Other treatments tied to the "visual identity system" included "University" with "Auburn" also included for the academic logos, Clardy said in August.

Auburn has utilized the "AU" shield on its football helmets since 1966.

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