Talk:Coastland University

This page was proposed for deletion by Kvng (talk · contribs) on 17 June 2014 with the comment:
No indication of notability. No references. Tagged for notability since 2010. No news hits.
It was contested by DGG (talk · contribs) on 22 June 2014 with the comment:
has some refs

California: Los Angeles Low‑importance

	California portal This article is within the scope of WikiProject California, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of the U.S. state of California on Wikipedia. If you would like to participate, please visit the project page, where you can join the discussion and see a list of open tasks.CaliforniaWikipedia:WikiProject CaliforniaTemplate:WikiProject CaliforniaCalifornia articles
Low	This article has been rated as Low-importance on the project's importance scale.
	Greater Los Angeles portal This article is supported by Los Angeles area task force (assessed as Low-importance).

Higher education

This article is within the scope of WikiProject Higher education, a collaborative effort to improve the coverage of higher education, universities, and colleges on Wikipedia. Please visit the project page to join the discussion, and see the project's article guideline for useful advice.Higher educationWikipedia:WikiProject Higher educationTemplate:WikiProject Higher educationHigher education articles

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.