As the new Loughborough University logo was released on Thursday April 23rd, it appeared that many students disliked the concept of it being changed at all. Label chatted to a few students who were willing to share their opinions:
“The rebrand isn’t just a logo, it’s a directional change for the University towards a modern, digitally focused organisation trying to separate them from establishment Universities”. Dan Leedham 4th year Aeronautical Engineering Student.
“Many changes are laughed at and are criticised… So was it with advancements in medicine (Operations help people?!), the earth in the universe (We are not the centre?!), voice transmission via electricity will never be popular (We call it Telephone today). And their are scientific developments which we can prove correct today. When I think about developments in arts, Fine Art, Music (Rock’n’Roll. God, that is crap, nobody will like it!), then you might recognise that we humans like to stay with the things we know. Sure, the logo is a change and might not appeal to everybody; it might look childish and round text font in a round logo are completely against design rules but who knows. Give it a chance; change is very often good. Let’s hope this one is too…
And Lboro Uni is not a logo but the news we make, for example winning the best uni award, BUCS, Lads culture and all that stuff. That is what people know and care about, not the shape and colour of the logo.” Till Sieberth, PhD Student.
Others were not so accommodating…
“I feel like the new design is so basic and childlike. Any Loughborough student would have proudly recognised the former logo anywhere, but now I feel a little alienated when confronted with their new look…” Alice Priestley, 2nd Year English Student.
“I think the main concern shouldn’t be ‘does it look good?’, but more, ‘Why weren’t the students asked for their opinion?” Alex Jones, 2nd Year English Student.
“It genuinely looks like the logo for playmobil or play doh. It has no sophistication or elegance what so ever…” unnamed 2nd Year Communications and Media Student.
“The symmetrical nature of the new logo draws the viewer into the center of the octagon effectively leaving the “Loughborough University” out of it completely and a quick scan would simply put “LU” in the viewer’s mind. Right now these two letters mean nothing to anyone in the professional world meaning anyone currently at Loughborough or any alumni will be harmed at any sort of interview or showing where this logo will be shown. The magenta colour has less association with Loughborough. If you were to ask someone what colour would they associate with us, they would most likely say purple or African Violet. The only showing of this colour on the logo is in the type which as explained earlier is missed in a short scan. The Sans typeface is incredibly unprofessional and is wildly hated in the design industry. It is a childish font and shows immaturity and lack of intelligence. The only benefit of this typeface is that it’s easy to read. The current logo draws the eye of the reader to the shield first. This is an iconic image and one that is wildly known and treasured by Loughborough students and is greatly helped by being majorly African Violet. The “L” in the top right corner and the magenta square nicely transfers the viewer’s eye onto the name. The name is again in same iconic colour and in a typeface which is easy to read and respectable. In my opinion the new logo will only help to decrease the amount of prospective students for many of our courses. It makes us look like an arts university not a university known for it’s high standard of sport and engineering.” Ryan Andrews, 2nd Year Aeronautical Engineering Student.
A petition has now been started in true Loughborough spirit, already having gained over 6000 signatures. Students are clearly unhappy with the new release, the original and well- known branding being updated for its modern counterpart. With various “alternative” designs flying around on social media and Label Illustration launching a Rebranding competition, what remains to be seen is if Loughborough Uni will bite and switch back to the logo we all know and love, or if they stick with the new pink octagonal version…
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Image designed by Lewis Allum
