Talk:Coastland University

Crest
Brett,

Coastland's "crest" does not adhere to any standards of heraldry. In fact, it is so out of step with the heradlic tradition that it comes off as an evident forgery and really strips your school of any sense of authenticity.

You'll need to study a bit of heraldry to understand the issues here (I certainly cannot explain them all) but I can note a number of things that are wrong:

1) You call this logo a "crest" but it's not a crest. The crest is the part of a heraldic image above the helm (usually heraldic images have a shield with a wreath and a helmet on top, all surrounded by mantling--that flowery looking stuff). The crest is only what sits on top of the helmet, not the whole image. The image, as a whole, is called a "coat of arms."

2) The image lacks a helm, crest, or mantling. This is highly unorthodox; particularly because it is surrounded by a wreath and has a sword behind it--both of which are nonstandard.

3) The charges (the stuff on the shield) simply do not meet heraldic standards. Again, you'll need to study heraldry to understand why.

Now the question that many people may ask, "Why should I care?" The reason is that you are seeking to utilize the imagery of heraldry as an emblem for your institution. That's great. There's nothing wrong with that. The problem is when you fake it you make your institution seem fake (which it largely is when you are establishing a sailing club before you have a campus or a single full-time faculty member) and it undermines the art. You are utilizing the art for what it brings to your school's image; so don't abuse it.

The best course of action would be to go through the American College of Heraldry and have them draw up original arms for you.

If you'd like to have a seal instead of a coat of arms (and many American universities do just that) then your approach would be different. There is less governance over what makes a seal, but you'd want it to be in step with other images that are recognized as seals in the US. One big step would be to choose something that doesn't look like a fake coat of arms.