After much ado, Arizona State fans' voices will soon be heard as the school opened up a voting process Monday to help redesign its Sparky the Sun Devil mascot.
The fan vote comes after the school's original redesign of the famed mascot on March 1 was met with widespread criticism. The new Sparky, which was designed in partnership with Disney and revealed in a pep-rally-type press conference, drew particular criticism for its new head design, which is the focus of the fan vote. The uproar was so great that ASU decided after less than a month to scrap the new design and let fans have a greater voice in the redesign process.
The vote began Monday and runs until 11:59 p.m., Sunday, May 5. It allows ASU students, faculty, staff, alumni, season-ticket holders and Sun Devil Club members and donors to vote with a unique link. Voters are given four options for a new head design:
The winning choice will be announced via social media within two days of the close of voting. The new mascot will be introduced at the start of the 2013 academic and athletic year, with the existing Sparky costume remaining in place until then.
The Sparky redesign also included a new Sparky logo, though it will not replace the old Sparky logo. The new logo will be used in comic books, children's books, animated films and select merchandise.
The original logo was drawn in 1946 by Disney artist Berk Anthony and has remained unchanged. The mascot, however, has changed more than a dozen times.
Eligible voters can sign up to cast their ballot at sparky.asu.edu.
