Semester at Sea: A Voyage Through Logo History
Semester at Sea (SAS) is a unique study-abroad program that offers undergraduates the opportunity to travel the world while earning college credit. Founded in 1963, the program is managed by the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) and has evolved significantly over the decades. This article delves into the history of the Semester at Sea program, focusing on its logo and branding evolution.
The Origins of Semester at Sea
The Semester at Sea program was founded in 1963 and is currently managed by the Institute for Shipboard Education (ISE) in Fort Collins, Colorado. Each spring and fall semester, the program hosts up to 600 undergraduates for a 100- to 110-day voyage. ISE had also hosted a 65-day summer program focused on one region of the world. In 2011, a 26-day Maymester voyage was introduced, with a curriculum centered on the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals, offering students the opportunity to earn four to five transferable credits. However, after the 2012 voyage, the Maymester and a two-week December-January Enrichment Voyage were canceled due to low enrollment.
A Brief History of Semester at Sea
The Semester at Sea program has a rich history, marked by both triumphs and challenges. The program itinerary differs each semester, and the ship typically docks at 10 or 11 ports. An early-1990s spring itinerary included Nassau, Caracas, Salvador (Brazil), Cape Town, Mombasa, Chennai, Singapore, Shanghai, Osaka and Hong Kong. More recent voyages have explored Hawaii, Japan, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Mauritius, South Africa, Ghana, Morocco, and the Netherlands. The fall 2019 itinerary included the Netherlands, Poland, the Kiel Canal, Portugal, Spain, Croatia, Morocco, Ghana, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago, the Panama Canal, Ecuador and Costa Rica. The Summer of 2012 voyage aboard the MV Explorer included Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Morocco, and Portugal. Semester at Sea had one summer voyage in 1996.
Throughout its history, Semester at Sea has faced several challenges. In 1993, a student died in a hiking accident, and in 1996, five students were killed in a bus crash during a field trip in India. The spring 1994 voyage ended in Hong Kong due to mechanical difficulties, and the ship had to be towed to the South China Sea and anchored overnight, guarded by crew members against piracy. The 1997 fall voyage was rerouted due to terrorism concerns, and the 2000 fall semester saw the ship struck by a barge in Vietnam. In 2005, the MV Explorer weathered a combination of three storms in the North Pacific, and a freak wave smashed the bridge's windows. The 2005 summer voyage was rerouted from London to Le Havre due to safety concerns after the July 7 London bombings. The fall 2017 voyage was rerouted from Mauritius at the vessel owner's request. The Spring 2020 voyage avoided a number of countries (including China) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On May 12, 2020, Semester at Sea announced that the Fall 2020 voyage would not be sailing as planned because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The modified itinerary was scheduled to begin with an online program and continue with a condensed voyage beginning in late October.
Semester at Sea has used a number of ships as its floating campus, including the MS Seven Seas (formerly the USS Long Island), the SS Ryndam (not the later freighter of that name), the SS Universe (formerly the SS Atlantic), the SS Universe Explorer and the MV Explorer. The SS Seawise University (formerly the RMS Queen Elizabeth), which SaS intended to use, burned and sank in 1972 in Hong Kong Harbour during her conversion into a floating campus. The Universe Explorer, which retired in 2005, had four main decks and a small swimming pool at the stern of the ship. The Seawise University, Universe, and Universe Explorer were supplied and managed by Tung Chao Yung's Seawise Foundation.
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The Evolution of the Semester at Sea Logo
The Semester at Sea logo has undergone several changes throughout the program's history. The move in 2022 to a new logo was intended to modernize our color palette and make our brand identity (logo) more readable from afar and online. It was also aimed at giving us another eye-catching brand element: the wave. It did this very well. It’s become recognizable to our target markets (students, families, and university partners).
The typographic update to our logo shifts hand-drawn text to a tall sans-serif that will be the grounding typeface for the brand. Additionally, we have introduced a more “in the know” logo variant that serves as a monogram logo for Semester At Sea: SAS. A term that colloquially and in text is often used as Semester At Sea shorthand. When printing limitations prevent the use of multiple colors, or when the medium only supports a single ink, we provide a streamlined logo version that maintains our brand’s integrity-it’s essential to have a single color logo for this use. To ensure clarity and legibility in this format, the wave element is strategically removed from the letters. Please note that this one-color logo variant is exclusively used for materials requiring one-ink printing.
The wave’s adaptability in these two colors allows it to seamlessly integrate with our broader color scheme, ensuring that our logo remains visually cohesive across all applications. Our brand icon for Semester At Sea is the extracted wave from our logo. This design element is versatile and can be used in all our brand colors, adding a unique touch to our swag and design highlights. While our brand icon a distinctive flair to our branding, it is important to note that it will never replace our main logos. Our color palette is an interpreted balance of land and sea.
Branding and Visual Identity
I developed Semester at Sea's new logo, colors, and typography. This is a visual brand language document to communicate their brand internally and externally. This shows my experience with brand development, management, and implementation. This included reviewing over 5 RFPs. After a finalist was received I communicated our visual brand and provided assets for the overall look and feel of the site. I have the right contacts and knowledge to get promotional products produced correctly. This is a sampling of recent products produced with multiple vendors for Semester at Sea. My logo design and branding for Semester at Sea are recognized around the world.
I presented these mockups to roll the new visual brand out during a retreat for Semester at Sea. Further iterations of these products were produced later. This is a Homecoming campaign mock-up that shows: main mark, social post, t-shirt, postcard. Graphics for a Semester at Sea video advertisement on Hulu. Graphics for a second Semester at Sea video advertisement on Hulu. YouTube thumbnails that build a clear visual consistency with these short films that were cut down from a larger film that premiered on Prime video and Apple TV.
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The Significance of the Logo
The Semester at Sea logo is more than just a visual symbol. It represents the program's mission and values, as well as its commitment to providing students with a transformative educational experience. The logo is used on all Semester at Sea materials, including the ship's funnel, promotional materials, and the program's website. It serves as a recognizable symbol of the program's brand and helps to create a sense of community among students, faculty, and alumni.
The Future of Semester at Sea Branding
As Semester at Sea continues to evolve, its branding will likely continue to evolve as well. The program is increasingly focused on reaching students while they are still at home and making their college decision. A focus on alumni stories: As noted above, potential students and families want to know what our alumni and their families have to say about the program.
The changes to our design language are evolutionary, not revolutionary. This new framework, and the tools provided by our partners, will help us tell stories with more clarity and impact. These won’t just be stories from students, faculty, staff, Lifelong Learners, or crew members on the voyage. They need to be your stories-your memories, your milestones, and your connection to Semester at Sea. So while we’re excited to begin introducing these updates to you, this is just the beginning. Our next step is to invite you into our storytelling by giving you meaningful ways to share your own SAS story. But focusing only on the ship can create the impression that our program happens solely at sea. A program for nearly every major: In our research, we learned that nearly half of prospective students assume SAS is only for students studying marine sciences (another 20% thought we taught students to sail). That’s intentional.
Semester at Sea: A Legacy of Shipboard Education
Semester at Sea has a storied history that began with its maiden voyage in 1963. The program's origins can be traced back to James Edwin Lough, a psychology professor at New York University, who envisioned a floating university that would travel the world. Although Lough's original vision did not fully materialize, it paved the way for the successful maiden voyage of the SS Ryndam in 1926. The concept of shipboard education did not fully take hold until the 1960s when it was resurrected as the University of the Seven Seas by Bill Hughes.
In 1976, Chapman College abandoned World Campus Afloat due to financial problems. With the support of C.Y. Tung, Dr. Griffiths left his tenured position and took the ship program with him. Mr. Tung and Dr. Griffiths then founded the Institute for Shipboard Education with Dr. Griffiths serving as Executive Director and Dr. John Tymitz second in command. Soon after, Dr. Lewan also joined the program. The University of Colorado was that university, enabling the program, now named Semester at Sea, to sail again, after only a one semester hiatus.
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In 2006, the program found a new home and academic sponsor at the University of Virginia. With Dr. Les McCabe at the helm as the new leader of SAS, the program continued to thrive with the recent purchase of its floating college, the MV Explorer. Interestingly, in full circle fashion, Dr. McCabe had been originally hired as a young man 23 years earlier by Dr. Semester at Sea is proud to have Colorado State University (CSU) as our current academic partner. As of June 1, 2016, CSU became the new academic partner for Semester at Sea.
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