Union Council to vote on Imperial logo next week
Motion calls for Imperial to seek more feedback on new logo before continuing rollout.
Photo: Rolando Charles for Felix
Union Council will vote next Tuesday on a motion calling for Imperial to seek more feedback on its new logo before proceeding any further with its rollout.
The motion argues that Imperial’s efforts to solicit feedback on its logo ‘were not effectively [or] sufficiently advertised,’ and that ‘without pushback from the Union,’ the university is ‘unlikely’ to solicit or apply any new feedback.
Imperial has faced widespread criticism after unveiling its new logo as part of a wider rebranding project. A Change.org petition calling for its replacement has gained nearly 8,000 signatures, and the university’s social media posts have been flooded with comments ridiculing the new design.
Union Council is the policymaking arm of the student union, and its membership is drawn from the student body. All students can submit motions for it to vote on.
If passed, next week’s motion will mandate Union President Camille Boutrolle to lobby Imperial’s brand team to ‘openly address the criticism of the new logo’ and ‘improve engagement and feedback collection methods’.
Responding to the criticism last month, Imperial’s brand project team said that it would ‘take any opportunity to hear what people think, to listen, and to answer questions.’
The team said it provided project updates in a video, on its website, and through a series of emails. However, students and staff say they were not aware of the new logo until last week, because none of the emails explicitly mentioned the logo or contained images of the changes.
‘Students feel unheard due to a lack of acknowledgement of the pushback,’ says the Union Council motion. ‘Imperial not addressing the wave of negative feedback is likely to have a lasting negative impact on students’ trust in [the university]’.
A brand project spokesperson said that the new brand ‘articulate[s] Imperial’s purpose and vision, our strengths and impact, while seeking to differentiate us in a crowded and competitive landscape.’
See also: ‘Imperial is a teenage maths tutor’, declares new College brand guidance
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