Help Me Out!
When I was a kid, I could run into any paint store... ask the counterperson for a gallon of "Dartmouth
Green" paint... and absolutely be certain that I would walk out with a gallon of deep green paint, which today is called
Hunter Green, Bristol Green, or some other "baronial" image name. It's the above center color with the
question marks.
We all know this color. It's the background color of the felt banners with white lettering
that The College displays at College functions.
But, what happened to "Dartmouth Green?" Where did it go? Who hijacked it?
Five years ago, I watched Dartmouth's football team take the field in a home-game, green jersery
that made me think that I was at Notre Dame during one of those surprise "Fighting Irish" jersey days. "Paddie, ol' boy, that
green was heading toward Kelly."
Then, when I first reveiwed The College website over two years ago, I thought that I was looking
at the Philadelphia Eagles new colors, or the interim uniform of the Seattle Seahawks in their transition from their
fresh, (but overused by others) bright green and blue to their newer steely colors, which have now morphed to deep silver
blue.
When I first started researching the mascot, I received a copy of an official statement ( well one
can never be too certain -- perhaps it was "unofficial" ) that stated that Dartmouth Green is PMS 349. (PMS = Pantone Matching
System (tm) ). Further the hexidecimal Internet equivalent is 006b3f, for which the closest
"web safe color" (seen by all browsers the same) = 006633.
PMS THREE - FORTY- NINE!
Get the asprins... I'm having a brain cramp!
This is approximately the lower
right representation in the box above.
No wonder paint store clerks
look pained when I now ask for "Dartmouth Green."
They're as confused as I am.
And if this is not bad enough, for non-webmasters, there are only 256 colors which are "web safe"
-- i.e., every browser represents them accurately, and (drum roll please ) PMS 349 is not one of them!
Hold on a minute: If You (relax, that's a formal you) are one of, if not THE MOST computer literate
colleges in the country... from the Basic programming language to a premier wireless campus... and if You were about
to radically change your "branded" PMS color so far from the original that few will recognize it, wouldn't You at
least pick a color, that is represented in the same way through the world's greatest publishing medium?
Gee, I would at least work from from the Web backwards. ( I know... Get the smelling salts;
the graphics arts department at the Hop just passed out! That is, if they ever have regained conscientious after
reviewing the discombobulated Alumni Magazine covers.)
Hopefully, in the near future, the Web will provide the flexibility to digitally print all
ink colors and the process will return to normal.
But since we are addressing symbol and gender equalities and realities of the times, should
we also not deal with the realities of history's most powerful communication medium?
There are two websafe greens which are commonly used over the Internet to represent "Dartmouth Green."
There is a very deep green...
THE BIG GREEN
HEX 003300
and then there is the lighter...
THE BIG GREEN
HEX 006600
The deeper color is the "rich" green; it only suffers over the web due to visitors having older tube
monitors through which this green can actually appear black due to the tube aging. The brighter green does not have
this web problem but may not be the commonly considered "Dartmouth Green" by many.
As for the PMS 349, (HEX 006B3F which must be represented
with HEX 006633,
THE BIG GREEN
HEX 006633 - CLOSEST TO PMS 349
it's a very pleasant, stylish, "newer" color... We
can all see it in use and fashion.
It's only problem: The paintstore clerk insists that this is not Dartmouth Green.
The clerk insists that this is
"Dartmouth Green!"
And, my old Big Green gear indicates that the clerk
is correct!
Of course this leads to a bigger question: Whether The College is just
attempting to replace a mascot / symbol... or attempting to "make-over" the entire college?
From the color discord, mascots du jour, certain delisted traditional songs which had little
to do with mascots, colors, genders, but history, one could easily conclude that The College has been attempting to
solve several simultaneous equations... concurrently.. This is difficult because it has has moved too many
"core" concepts/values without first solving the "EMOTIONAL X" factor.
Despite the human complexity, the EMOTIONAL X is really very simple:
Most people resist change, regardless of its value.
There are very few "early adopters" for any concept, or market. So, change
must be "officially" introduced with honesty, plus implemented and managed with measured steps.
All of which drives home the corollary: If people resist change, in general,
they get downright P-Oed when someone attempts to change more than one of their variables at the same time! Expect
the cry "You're pulling my chain!" for, indeed, one is, if s/he is attempting multiple, simultaneous changes.
Baby-steps are good.
So... introduce the HEX 006633 as the new accent to the traditional "Dartmouth Green"
and wrap this beautiful color combination around a beautiful creature that has the powerful image of the male moose, and
represents powerful females as well. Is this so difficult?
