New Stripes for an RIT Favorite

Late last year, Truth Collective worked with Rochester Institute of Technology’s Auxiliary Services to rebrand several dining brands across campus. The first property to institute the new branding was the beloved RITZ Sports Zone in the lower level of the student union.

Because the space has forever been associated with RIT sport, we wanted to strengthen that bond to collegiate sport with the new brand. Bold typography and a simplified name (the joint is just RITZ now) have been paired with imagery of the RIT’s school spirit and team fandom. Additionally, new tiger stripes patterns and design elements that evoke fandom such as pennants and foam fingers complement the primary branding.

In addition to reinventing the core brand elements, the assignment included the way finding to RITZ in the stairwell from the main floor as well as dressing the lower level space outside the dining property. For the stairs, we covered it in our new tiger stripe pattern and used casual language to set a brand tone to invite students, alumni, visitors and faculty to the lower level of the building. Once there, they were met with a space bathed in sport and fan imagery that feels more like urban wild posting walls that scream RIT Tiger spirit rather than a basement.

So far, the feedback has been positive and RITZ continues its legacy as the joint to snarf down a pasta bake before hitting a hockey game or digging into a plate slathered in Tiger Sauce after an evening practice or study session.

We collaborated with Rob Hopkins/Stronghold Studio on the word mark and secondary design elements, and I handled the environmental design of the stairwell and the wild posting walls that create the entrance to RITZ. RIT’s internal team used our guidelines to create the handprinted murals within the space to create a cohesive experience throughout RITZ. Get over there to grab some chow the next time you’re on campus.