Recent Utah State Grad Designs New Look For "49ers"

Alex Smith and Steve Young aren't Utah's only connection to the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers unveiled a new wordmark in the end zones of Monster Park Aug. 13, and Utah State University graduate Ben Barnes is the graphic designer behind the new look.

 

"It is so cool to see my design on the 49ers field and pictures of it in chat rooms with sports fans talking about it," said Barnes.

 

When Barnes graduated in the spring of 2004 he sent resumes and his portfolios to all of the major sports design companies, and RARE Design responded. From there, he was given the test project of working on the 2005 Major League Soccer Cup logo and his design was chosen by MLS.

 

Barnes was then given the assignment to work on the 49ers project as a freelancer for RARE Design, winner of the San Francisco bid.

 

"The team wanted to update the old West look of the 49ers element of its identity," said Rodney Richardson, president of RARE Design. "They wanted the look to match the modern feel of the SF logo without straying too far from tradition, and I thought Ben was the perfect designer to help us meet that challenge."