ON WISCONSIN : JS ONLINE : PACKER PLUS ONLINE :

E-MAIL | PRINT THIS STORY

Keeping legend fresh

Madison firm gives Packers' tradition a new look

By DON WALKER
dwalker@journalsentinel.com

Last Updated: Aug. 10, 2003

Green Bay - As a young boy, Mark Schmitz idolized Donny Anderson, the former running back for the Green Bay Packers.

Z-D Studios Photo/Joe Koshollek Longtime Packers fan Mark Schmitz dug deep into the team's history to bring its look into the 21st century. His Z-D Studios got the job of designing the look of team operations at Lambeau Field. About The Company Founded: 1992. Home office: 111 S. Hamilton St., Jackman Building, on the Capitol Square in Madison. Services: A design firm specializing in brand imaging, including logo design, Web development, interior and exterior environmental graphic programs, multimedia image campaign development. Recent clients: Miller Brewing Co., Green Bay Packers, Florida International University, University of Wisconsin athletic department, City of Madison, American Family Insurance, Great Lakes Cos. (Great Wolf Lodge at Wisconsin Dells). Sales: More than $2 million so far this year. How the Zebradog Got Its Name Creative director Mark Schmitz was talking to an insurance agent when the agent asked Schmitz to spell the company's name. "Z as in Zebra, D as in Dog, and then it hit me. Zebradog," he said. A zebradog is now the firm's mascot, and can be found at www.zebradog.com.

Like so many other Wisconsinites, the Packers were a part of Schmitz's childhood, and he has fond memories of following the team's fortunes.

"I have memories of the Super Bowl, memories of Grandpa and all of that black-and-white TV life," Schmitz said.

As if further proof is needed, Schmitz has in his wallet an autograph from Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr, a keepsake he's had since 1975, when Starr signed it at an athletic banquet in Madison.

Packer credentials intact, Schmitz, 40, did not end up playing professional football. But the role his Madison-based Z-D Studios played in giving the refurbished Lambeau Field a new logo and look will play an important part of the Packers' future.

On Sept. 7, the Packers will formally rededicate Lambeau Field in a ceremony before the start of the Packers-Minnesota Vikings game.

For the Packers organization, it will be a new chapter in the team's history.

"Lambeau Field has a sense of place like no other place in professional sports," said Schmitz, president and creative director of Z-D. "It's an awesome experience, to look and stand where you are."

A legend preserved

Set in a historic building near the State Capitol, Z-D Studios is a design firm that specializes in brand imaging.

Formed in 1992, the small company has collared some big clients, including Miller Brewing Co., Gillette Co., the University of Wisconsin, Westin Hotels and the former Aid Association for Lutherans. It was Z-D that redid Miller's visitor center and tour on W. State St.

The Packers made it clear at the beginning of their $295.2 million plan to remodel the stadium that it should have a retro look.

To tie all of the elements together, the Packers wanted a new logo that would capture the image of a tradition-laden sports franchise with a long history in Green Bay.

In October 2000, Hammes and Co., the firm hired by the Packers to manage the construction project, brought in Schmitz to meet with Packers executives.

Connected immediately

For Schmitz, it was an opportunity to visually redevelop the historic stadium, yet find a way to "keep the legend alive."

"It was important that we surround fans with the history and the championship feeling that has been there," Schmitz said.

Schmitz said he felt he connected with team officials immediately.

"It's a museum waiting to happen and it's something that, given the right understanding of visual brand design and management, you can implement strategies throughout the facility that tie the whole experience together," he said.

The Packers felt the connection, too.

"The thing that impressed me about Mark is that he has this creative expertise. But he really got what we are trying to do. He gets the Packers. He understood," said John Jones, Packers executive vice president and chief operating officer.

"He got off to such a great start with the Lambeau Field logo," team President Bob Harlan said. "From that point on, you had great confidence in him."

A 'timeless' logo

Schmitz's challenge was huge. Design a new stadium logo, come up with a theme to mark the occasion of the new stadium, redesign the new Packers Hall of Fame and plan a new stadium tour for fans, work with the new restaurants and retailers in the stadium's Titletown Atrium, develop themes for the other attractions inside and coordinate all of the efforts with the team's major sponsors.

It was an A to Z project. There had to be a new look for the restrooms, the players' tunnel was recast, and changes were made in the building's interior and exterior.

Old photos, famous Packers quotations and other historic elements were designed and deployed.

Schmitz and his team began by familiarizing themselves with the architecture, old and new. The firm researched the history of the team and the stadium and worked with companies such as Miller and Associated Bank, which had signed on as major stadium sponsors.

The logo, the image that is supposed to bring it all together, was the key.

"I wanted the logo to be a timeless event. The mark will anchor the future of the facility, and the mark should be something the kids can relate to and understand, and something grandpas can relate to and understand," Schmitz said.

The main logo features a quarterback - "A quarterback image needed to be there," Schmitz said - wearing a leather helmet without a facemask, his right arm cocked and ready to throw downfield. The words "Lambeau Field" dominate the logo, with the words "Since 1957" adorning the bottom.

The year 1957 is the year the new City Stadium was opened on the site of Lambeau Field. The stadium was renamed Lambeau Field in 1965.

In addition, Schmitz's team designed the "Rebirth of a Legend" patch that Packers players will wear on their jerseys only for the Sept. 7 stadium rededication game against the Vikings. That logo includes the '30s style, leather-helmeted quarterback but includes "2003" to mark the year the refurbished stadium opened.

Schmitz said the National Football League had to approve the use of the patch for the Vikings game.

Year-round fan experience

From the beginning, the Packers knew they needed a stadium that would be an attraction beyond game days during the regular season.

Revenue from stadium attractions, concessions and retail sales has become a huge part of a professional sports franchise's bottom line.

The Packers have an advantage on that front.

It has history, tradition, success and a huge fan base that follows the team through good times and bad.

Schmitz, in reworking the Hall of Fame and other attractions at the stadium, tried to create more interactivity to bring fans in year-round.

"You can't operate a big box like this and put people in it 11 days or so a year," he said. "It won't sustain itself. The idea of a 365-day-a-year experience at Lambeau is something that will be copied by other stadium districts and entertainment districts around the country. It has to be that way."

When fans enter the stadium, the retro feel will be evident everywhere.

"You will see all of the retail outlets, all of the restaurants and the food spaces, it will all work within the retro style," Schmitz said.

For Schmitz and his team, it has been hectic work that will continue right up to Sept. 7.