New banners featuring San Francisco State University’s rebranded “Brighter Here” messaging appeared across campus this week, drawing a range of reactions from students.

The rebranding features new typography, color palettes and messaging centered around the brand platform “Brighter Here.” The university introduced the new identity to strengthen the institution’s visibility as part of broader efforts to increase enrollment.

Barbara Stein, director of marketing and brand strategy, said the rebrand addresses competitive challenges facing the university.

“We’re looking to strengthen awareness of San Francisco State, both locally and nationally,” Stein said. “We want to attract more prospective students who see themselves reflected in our values, deepen engagement with alumni and donors, and create a more unified, consistent identity across all parts of the university. Ultimately, this is about making our communications more effective, so they better support the incredible work already happening here.”

Golden Gate Xpress showed students portions of marketing documents provided by Stein. Student reactions to the new campaign varied, with some appreciating the aesthetic updates while others questioned whether rebranding should be happening amid recent budget concerns.

Megan Salariosa, a third-year visual communications student, said her first reaction to the new banners was a neutral “Wow.” She said she felt surprised but in neither a positive nor a negative way.

“Seeing it here just makes me feel like an actual college,” Salariosa said. “It’s like a modernization of the logo, but it does have some flair… I think the old font was a lot more — really simple — but something like this makes it feel like a bigger school type of feeling.”

Theo Stickley, a third-year recreation, parks and tourism student, was enthusiastic about the new designs and messaging.

“I like the font, I like the style, I like the messages being said,” said Stickley. “It’s really welcoming.”

However, he wanted to see people on the banners around campus.

“You had actual, visible references of the student base who wanted to come here, what they wanted to come here for,” Stickley said.

Stickley also said the reason he enrolled at SFSU is because of its diversity and liked that the new brand identity will promote that. He also felt the messaging was accurate to his experience.

“In all these classes I’ve been to, everyone — teachers, students — everyone has been welcoming, supportive,” Stickley said. “If I was struggling somewhere, not only did they help me, but they put me on access and paths to get help, to get resources. So I think this is awesome. I think the messaging and the new ads really show what SFSU really is.”

Thomas Higby, an accounting student, said that the student body is diverse and inclusive but questioned if that’s true for the administrative staff.

“A lot of students don’t even know the administration nor do they have any avenues to really talk to them,” Higby said.

Kimberly Gonzalez, a fourth-year sociology student, liked the new designs but questioned the timing.

“It’s good that they want to rebrand and shine a new light, but I think that they should focus on other issues,” Gonzalez said. “It just feels like they’re just trying to distract people from the fact that they just made a lot of budget cuts.”

Ira Irvani, a cinema master’s program student, said the new designs were aesthetically pleasing but the messaging is misleading.

“I don’t feel hopeful coming to this place or — because I’m graduating in a couple weeks — I don’t think it’s built my trajectory for my career,” Irvani said. “‘We see the world in a more positive light’ — that’s not true, every time I’ve wanted to make a creative project, I’ve had to face the roadblocks of ‘We don’t have money. We can’t do that.’ There is no willingness to help.”

Peter Rodriguez, a business administration student, didn’t like the designs or the messaging.

“This is the kind of redesign that brands go through when they have become too big for their britches,” Rodriguez said. “It doesn’t really express the creativity of the students. In a campus so colorful like this, it’s not representative of what they’re trying to tell us it is.”

He continued, speaking about ongoing issues.

“As of right now, we’re facing a tuition increase, we’re facing staff, faculty cuts — and they can really think about redesigning a whole new look for the school, for the upcoming freshmen, which isn’t really turning any heads and just looks more bland than ever,” Rodriguez said. “Just go back to how it was. There was nothing wrong with it. And now it’s just pandering to minimalism that most brands pander to now.”

Gallery • 4 Photos

A slide from the SFSU Brand Story Town Hall presentation on April 30, 2025. (Courtesy of Barbara Stein)