Further to UW's new logo

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Juvenile criticisms aside (it looks like it was graffitied by a Jackson Pollock wannabe), I think the new UW logo has some more fundamental issues.

• It has no gravitas. The old logo was based in heraldry, and the coat of arms is a strong, distinct design. Heraldry automatically brings with it an aura of respectability. When people see the new

Comments

[stak]

1) Where some people associate heraldry with respectability, others might associate it with stodgy old-fashioned ideas and an inability to keep up with the times. I know I do. I'm not say "oo, colors" is better, but I do think a change is in order.
2) If people aren't all that familiar with Waterloo, then now is a perfect time to change the brand, since you lose less people with the switch. After the switch you can build up familiarity with the new brand.
3) This is a circular argument. The expectation arises from the fact that most universities *don't* change their logos, and that comes from resistance to change brought about by.. what exactly?
4) Sort of agree with this one. They could have done better. But the coat of arms is kind of out dated. Nobody would even know what it looked like if it weren't in the logo, so it's not like somebody unfamiliar with UW would be able to see it and say "oh, that's the University of Waterloo". This is true of both logos. I think my argument here is basically "it's the university's coat of arms? who cares?"
5) But the lasers! pew pew pew!
6) I'm suprised it's only 10 to 1. The new logo only just came out, after all, and we all know how people love change. Give it a month to settle in and then do a poll, see if you get the same numbers.

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Watch that you don't fall in to the "Something needs to be done. This is something. Therefore it must be done" trap.

Aesthetics aside (I don't consider the coat of arms to be stodgy or outdated), the coat of arms is at least distinctive. Once you are familiar with the brand, it's easy to make the association. The W is too easily confused with other things. There is nothing unique about it.

If the brand is being sold widely, glancing at the coat will make you go "Oh, Waterloo". The W is too generic to be able to make that kind of association. That's really my biggest complaint.