Upon entering hooper, something new might catch your eye. Bright unity colors beam from a small grey pop-up shop. Water bottles, hoodies, t-shirts, and notebooks all embellished with the Webb logo are out on display waiting to be purchased. After multiple years of not being able to buy Webb merchandise, excited students were ready to see what the Spirit Store team created over the summer and are ready to show their school spirit. However, the store has received mixed reactions.
The designs on the new clothing items being offered differ drastically from the old merchandise that Webbies are used to. Although the class of 2023 is the only class that was present before the newly branded spirit store, students across all grade levels on campus still miss the simplicity of the old sweatshirts, including freshmen.
“There’s cool merch, but I prefer the old merch better because it was simpler,” said Aaden Mozia (‘26).
Most students take issue with the complex logos and designs. The school’s colors and fonts on its merchandise changed due to the rebranding. The original design, with just “WEBB” in block letters is replaced with “The Webb Schools” with a blue frame around the text. Students miss the old navy and gold zip-ups, the flannel pajama pants, and the heather grey hoodies. The complicated logo makes the merch look a lot more marketed and business-like, rather than a regular school’s merchandise logo.
“I didn’t like the design of the school’s name. The ‘WEBB’ logo from past years was better than the new logo,” said Sam Zeiden (‘23).
Students were hindered from buying Webb merch due to the inability to be on campus during COVID-19. The Spirit Store was also held back from creating merch due to merchandise shortages. Nowadays, the only way students can see old merchandise is on upperclassmen who sport the remnants of the merch that still fits from freshman year. Many underclassmen long for the day when they can buy the same merch that upperclassmen wear.
“I see people wearing Webb sweatpants or pajamas and kind of wonder why I can’t get those,” said Kenny Clay (‘25). “When I see some of the older Webb merch, I like how much more variety it had.”
The rebranding has prompted some students to both feel nostalgic and left out when they are not able to wear past merch. Despite the negative feedback on the new designs, students have enjoyed the amazing quality of the merchandise from the hoodie to the hydro flask.
“I would just like to put an emphasis on how soft my sweatshirt is. It is the Webb hoodie; get one, it’s amazing.” said Lucy Troendle (‘26).
“At first when I saw the student store, I thought it was cool because there is a lot of stuff there,” Jonathan Rosales (‘24) said. “Some of the items are eh, but I like the water bottle a lot.”
Students have been giving their feedback in the hope of seeing a change. However, the parameters of the rebranding restrict the realization of these requests. Ken Rosenfeld, Dean of Campus Life, explains that with the rebranding, old fonts and colors were not approved to be used for the merch. Mr. Rosenfeld, who serves as the bridge between students and the merchandise team, requested more student feedback so that he and the team can see how they can lean into the desires of students as much as possible.
“So far, it’s been very informal whereas it would be much more helpful if we formalized that process also to make sure that the students feel like they have a voice in it,” said Mr. Rosenfeld.
There is hope for the return of the block lettering of “WEBB”. It will not be in the exact way Webbies remember; however, it will resemble the old style in some sense.
“The nice thing is that, with the athletic branding, we have box lettering,” said Mr. Rosenfeld. “So, it’s not collegiate, but it’s still box lettering that we are trying to lean into. So that it’s simple enough so that it is what people want, but also maybe has a little bit of pop to be able to stand out.”
Mr. Rosenfeld strives to combine the old simplicity of the merchandise with newer and more creative variations. According to him, new merchandise will be coming soon.
“We are working on a second wave of merchandise, particularly T-shirts and maybe more creative things,” said Mr. Rosenfeld. “We also are about to launch an online store which should generate more attention and sales.”
Webbies may have mixed opinions about the merch but will be glad to know their feedback will be taken more seriously in the future. With the gradual transition of unifying the two schools, this rebranding is the first visual step Webbies have experienced. Although students may not know what is in store for them, they should continue to use their voice to advocate for their desires.
