New university logo establishes CU's graphic identity, link to history
Simeon Moss
Yes, the university has a new logo. May its dissemination begin.
The development process, which has lasted almost five months and involved input from a wide range of Cornellians, has culminated in a graphic identifier that has received praise from all corners of the campus.
“I am delighted that with the logo we are reconnecting our visual identity program with the university's historic emblem,” said Cornell President Jeffrey Lehman.
“The new logo is a major improvement. The emblem serves as a reminder of the vision that Ezra Cornell had when he founded the university. Students will be proud to display this logo,” said student-elected trustee Jacqueline Koppel '05.
The process of creating a new logo was requested by Lehman and implemented by Tommy Bruce, vice president for communications and media relations. And its successful development required the dedicated work of graphic designers from Cornell's Office of Communication and Marketing Services, who benefited from advice gathered from a number of campus discussion groups, from numerous individual meetings with Cornellians and from the guidance of two agencies — Iron Design of Ithaca and Chermayeff and Geismar of New York — as well as on-campus professionals.
The new logo design, approved by Lehman, involves a refinement of Cornell's traditional university emblem, developed in 1910 and refined in 1930. The work on this design track was developed by Ivan Chermayeff, a major figure in the world of contemporary graphic design, and refined by Cornell's logo design team. The new logo contains two parts: the insignia, which is a modern and efficient version of the emblem, and the “Cornell University” logotype.
The final step in the process — and a crucial one, at that — has been the development of a detailed style guide for the use of the logo in a variety of applications and media — print, Web, broadcast, signage and apparel. That style guide can found online at http://www.cornell.edu/identity.
Also as part of the design process, the official color has been returned to Cornell's original deep shade of red — dubbed “carnelian” — first used during the inauguration of the university and its first president, Andrew Dickson White, in 1868. The new logo's designers conducted archival research to detail the history of graphic marks at the university and to understand the origins of Cornell's traditional shield and colors.
The members of Cornell's logo design team, led by senior designer Laurie Ray, are senior designers Kathryn Seely and Clive Howard and editor Jeri Wall.
“The design team's hard work, creativity and skill has been extraordinary, and the entire Cornell community has benefited from their dedication,” said Bruce.
“I am very proud of the work we did,” said Ray. “The input we received from many campus constituencies was critical in developing a design that takes into consideration the desires of Cornellians.”
Although the new logo is a strong departure from the one established in 2001, the development of that “red box,” said Bruce, was a crucial first step in the establishment of a consensus among Cornellians around a design they feel most strongly about.
“When I first came on campus [in April of this year], the topic of the logo would come up in many discussions, and there seemed to be a general agreement around what people wanted to see,” Bruce said. That consensus centered on some form of the traditional university emblem. The emblem had deep resonance for many Cornellians, Bruce found, as an academic symbol of the university and its history.
“In fact, the student Image Committee, led by Peter Cohl '05, served a leadership role in framing the campus preference for a return to tradition,” Bruce said. “All of our discussions with campus constituents and our research into the history of the university's official imagery indicated the need to maintain a relationship to what has gone before,” he added.
The new logo also will exist in harmony with two other important symbols of the university — the corporate seal, which is used on legal instruments and official documents, and the Great Seal, which is reproduced on all Cornell academic diplomas.
And while the colorful university emblem remains a viable symbol that will continue in use in some university contexts — such as on the Cornell flag — it is difficult to reproduce accurately and effectively in the real world of fax copies, photocopies and one-color reproduction.
“We feel — and Cornellians have told us — that this new logo reflects the university's rich history and academic identity, while providing a modern, clear and meaningful identifier for use in today's diverse media,” Bruce said.
Source:
Cornell University - News
