What started as a passion project by two very talented colleagues (both former students of mine) became an effective rebrand of Bismarck State College’s athletics mascot — the Mystic. For many years, BSC had no distinguished presence in the two-year collegiate sports arena, but with many new athletic programs developing over several years the Mystics needed to present a more powerful persona.
The collaborative project culminated with streamlined revisions to the Mystic mascot profile and logotype. The mascot wielding a mystical orb, skewed type and a tailed glyph over the lower case ‘i’ were included to add a sense of motion to an otherwise static logo.
BSC students, faculty and staff quickly embraced the new Mystic mascot and even held a campaign to give this character a name. Votes were tallied with Merlin topping the suggestions. Mystic Athletics invested in a full-sized mascot uniform so Merlin could embody a friendly BSC presence at athletic, campus and community events.
