A newly wrapped UTC Police SUV featuring the department’s updated blue-and-gold design. Photo by Angela Foster.
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Police and Public Safety just got a new blue-and-gold look.
The new vehicles—which include redesigned graphics and updated Mocs colors—were nearly a year in the making, according to UTC Chief of Police and Associate Vice Chancellor for Public Safety Sean O’Brien.
“Last year, as we assessed the needs of UTC Public Safety and UTC Police specifically, we realized we needed to update our modes of transportation and improve our ability to access various parts of campus,” O’Brien said. “In addition, we needed to unify our branding and align it with the overall family of graphics of the University.”
Thanks to work done by Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration Brent Goldberg in securing new vehicles, O’Brien said the idea became reality.
The result is a mix of new patrol cars, SUVs, trucks and wrapped existing vehicles, each wearing coordinated blue-and-gold designs.
O’Brien said updating the appearance is not all about looks.
“For our officers, the patrol car is their office,” he said. “They spend so much time out patrolling campus and it is important to me that they have pride in themselves and their equipment.
“These new patrol vehicles are uniquely identifiable here in the region and are unlike any other police vehicles around in their appearance. As our campus community becomes accustomed to the new appearance, they will have an easier time recognizing when UTC Police or Public Safety vehicles and personnel are in the area.”
A mock-up of one of the new UTC police vehicles by Amy Barker.
A campus collaboration between the UTC Department of Public Safety and the Division of Communications and Marketing made the makeover happen.
“I didn’t even know that you could design a police car,” said graphic designer Amy Barker. “I thought that they were designed for you, so that was cool.”
Her process involved researching police markings from departments across the country and creating versions for both light and dark vehicles—and adding some UTC flair.
“With something like this, there are elements you have to keep consistent such as vehicle numbers, emergency markings, the word ‘police’ being highly visible,” Barker said. “But I was interested to find out that there’s actually a lot of flexibility with what you can add or how you stylize it.”
The most difficult part of the project, Barker said, was including personal touches such as the stripes above the fenders and navigating the uneven parts of the vehicles.
“The character lines and curves were different, so I had to rethink where certain things could go. Those curves really affected things,” she said.
Barker worked alongside several Public Safety staff members and officers, which she said added an important layer to the work and made the final product stronger.
“For something so visible and so expensive, I was glad they cared,” she said. “It’s representing them, after all.”
Barker, who also designed the Mocs Express buses, said she is excited to spot her designs now that they have officially hit the road.
“Whenever I see the buses I’m like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s my bus,’” she said. “So I think I’ll feel the same way about these—like, ‘That’s my police car.’”
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