NYUAD Mascot Design

In the fall of 2012, the Athletics Department at NYU Abu Dhabi decided to give the university sports teams a distinctive name and mascot, separate from NYU's Bobcat. The student body and faculty voted for "the Desert Falcons." At this point, NYUAD had already become an active participant in the Abu Dhabi Inter-University Sports League and needed a strong visual identity to match the sports teams' achievements and status. They launched a competition for the mascot logo design, won by a proposal for a mascot designed by junior students Erin (Meekhof) Collins and Zachary Ross. The image serves as a rallying point for the school’s athletics and other activities. It is versatile and powerful in its simplicity, able to be applied in a wide range of branded colors on merchandise.

]Now the mascot is used by NYUAD Athletics as well as the wider university. It adorns the athletic facilities on Saadiyat Island and student spaces on campus, from the pool tables in the Baraha area to the walls of the Marketplace. It has already become an icon of the boldness and spirit of the university.