Logo taboos: redesigning the visual identity of the Cyprus University of Technology
Date Issued
May 2017
Author(s)
Abstract
The Cyprus University of Technology was founded on December 2003 and welcomed
its first students on September 2007. Since its establishment, the University has been
using for its logo an icon of a fifth century Byzantine mosaic known as the goddess
Ktisis (KTICIC), a personification symbolising the creation of the world (see figure 1).
The specific image is exposed for public viewing at the ancient theatre of Curium in
Limassol-Cyprus, and is arbitrarily photographed by a number of local companies
and institutions as a symbol of their logo and brand strategy as well. Because of
issues of copyrights and accessibility, in addition to serious problems of readability
and adaptation in various applications, mediums, and sizes, the senate decided to
proceed with a refinement, as well as ask for the option to design a new logo for the
Cyprus University of Technology. That would differentiate it from the rest and diminish
its current graphic design problems. Additionally, the whole idea would contribute
to the re-branding actions that the University decided to proceed in 2017. As a
consequence of this decision, a series of protests and arguments came into place,
based on beliefs that such activities are too sacred to commence, and that changing
the logo of the University should be prohibited. The aim of the current paper is to
argue that the idea of changing the visual identity of a University should not be treated
as a taboo, but as a decision that if executed professionally, could only work for its
benefit. In doing so, the study seeks to present the art and design process that was
undertaken for the development of a new logotype, and show the conceptualisation
of its various design stages. Particularly, the presentation will build on the reasons that
lead to a visual identity change, discuss current trends and aesthetics of University
logos, analyse the design and semiotic parameters that should be considered when
redefining logotypes, and argue the benefits of a new visual identity and long term
branding. The design results show that the implementation of the new logo (see
figure 2) has been widely embraced by a great number of academics, students, and
the wider public, in spite of the taboo around the whole idea or the propagandistic
actions that took place during its making.
its first students on September 2007. Since its establishment, the University has been
using for its logo an icon of a fifth century Byzantine mosaic known as the goddess
Ktisis (KTICIC), a personification symbolising the creation of the world (see figure 1).
The specific image is exposed for public viewing at the ancient theatre of Curium in
Limassol-Cyprus, and is arbitrarily photographed by a number of local companies
and institutions as a symbol of their logo and brand strategy as well. Because of
issues of copyrights and accessibility, in addition to serious problems of readability
and adaptation in various applications, mediums, and sizes, the senate decided to
proceed with a refinement, as well as ask for the option to design a new logo for the
Cyprus University of Technology. That would differentiate it from the rest and diminish
its current graphic design problems. Additionally, the whole idea would contribute
to the re-branding actions that the University decided to proceed in 2017. As a
consequence of this decision, a series of protests and arguments came into place,
based on beliefs that such activities are too sacred to commence, and that changing
the logo of the University should be prohibited. The aim of the current paper is to
argue that the idea of changing the visual identity of a University should not be treated
as a taboo, but as a decision that if executed professionally, could only work for its
benefit. In doing so, the study seeks to present the art and design process that was
undertaken for the development of a new logotype, and show the conceptualisation
of its various design stages. Particularly, the presentation will build on the reasons that
lead to a visual identity change, discuss current trends and aesthetics of University
logos, analyse the design and semiotic parameters that should be considered when
redefining logotypes, and argue the benefits of a new visual identity and long term
branding. The design results show that the implementation of the new logo (see
figure 2) has been widely embraced by a great number of academics, students, and
the wider public, in spite of the taboo around the whole idea or the propagandistic
actions that took place during its making.