Updated logo

The very helpful Brand Guideline PDF introduces the rather lovely Galaxie Copernicus which has been paired with the equally nice Altis

With regard to the new logo, the simplified crest is a great example of how to update what can often be fairly clumsy renderings of crests. The different weights of type in the marque are a nice touch, emphasising a key selling point for the University - It’s cardiff location.

The marque (as the guidelines call it) is an elegant and modern take on the traditional serif often used to reference tradition in educational institutions. The only thing that grates a little for me is the mannered connection of the ‘C’ to the rest of the word - seems overly fussy in an otherwise classy execution of a familiar trope.

Previous logo

Typographic only treatment of the letters that make up University of Wales Institute Cardiff, which it’s commonly abbreviated to.

Typography

Kind of an angular, futuristic calligraphy, the wordmark takes on an almost abstract quality. It begins with a minimal letter U, that suggests the bowl of the letter rather than drawing it. Followed by a dynamic, slanted W which is then halted by an abrupt I, then all literally rounded of with a circular terminal on a crescent C.

Less successful is the relatively new bi-lingual tag line. In a wider format, as used on the prospectus it functions, but without integrating particularly well with the logo. It seems a little clunky to just repeat the phrase cardiff’s metropolitan university in welsh without some attempt to relate them.

The online version of the logo places the straplines beneath the wordmark, making a tighter unit overall.

Brand positioning and tradition

Redolent of a logo from the commercial sector, it seems a deliberate break with the educational allusions and imagery often used. Perhaps a reflection of the teaching and vocational approach UWIC has had and the consequent need to appeal more directly to that audience. That’s not to say that the mark doesn’t seek to allude to some history. The subtle spurs on the letters maybe a nod to a celtic history of calligraphic marks, and good to see it hasn’t morphed into the sweeps and swoops of dragon tails and tongues so prevalent in Welsh logos.

Tagged : Welsh , Blue , Uppercase , University Alliance , Brand Guidelines , Crest , Serif , Bi-lingual

Read the Wikipedia entry Visit website Read the brand guidelines