Oh dear. The Macquarie University logo disaster.
on February 6th, 2009
Gotta love this one. I was just reading David Airey’s “Is your logo design phallic” article yesterday; and what do I come across today? Yep, obviously, another brilliant – and high-profile – example.
Macquarie University, one of the largest and most respected universities in Australia had an absolutely hilarious logo. Thankfully they changed it in January 2009, but the old logo still appears on their Wikipedia page:
…Closely mirrored by the Anglican Robert Menzies College. And this one is still in place:
I just can’t believe I never noticed before! Anyway, the new logo is much better:
Still, I think I liked the old one better: I’m a UNSW girl after all…
I’m not against change but note that the many of the older solid and well established universities overseas have not changed their logos so why have a number of Australian universities gone down this track? You have to wonder. I’ve just read the explanation behind the new design (2009) for Macquarie and it appears that it is aimed soley at acknowledging the high Asian student component within the university community so when this demographic changes what then?
I have an interpretation of the old logo based on interesting historical facts. Granted the lighthouse image is accepted as a beacon of learning but there is another angle to consider as well. The university was sited on farmland (mostly Italian farmers) and nearby was rest and recreation hostel for the Seamans’ Union (where Macquarie Shopping Centre now stands). In another street was the Lighthouse Theatre. I believe that it is possible that these two institutions had an influence on the thinking at the time (mid sixties) particularly as the Seamans’ Union site was well known in the Eastwood community and the Lighthouse theatre was a lively and well attended theatre for the communities of Eastwood and Epping particularly. So I assume that the lighthouse is a historical link to the site itself and acknowledgement of the people and organisations in the immediate locality.
It is an improvement, but it is still a bit ho-hum for my liking. I just don’t get the red leaf link to the uni or the old logo…
Or am I missing something?
I quote: “the multi-layered, splayed leaves which evoke the natural beauty of the Macquarie campus, something that meant a lot to every stakeholder group we consulted with. The multi-layered leaves represent our multi-disciplinary approach, our flexibility, agility and creativity as defined in our Voice.”
So they have a leafy campus hence that was important enough to reflect in the logo. Ah well. Another mediocre rebranding, as we’ve seen plenty this year.
This is hilarious! But I do not like the new logo either. It gives the impression of a private college!
A university logo should provide some insight into the prestige and the age of the institution. The new logo does not provide that feel.
Being a very academic/theory oriented university, Macquarie is trying to re brand its image as an industry partner in education.
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That’s the nature of design to change. If anyone had mention the design looked phallic when their logo was last updated I’m sure alarm bells would have rung and the design would have been binned. 20 years from now there will be the same scrutiny of logo’s we are proudly churning out at the moment.
That’s awesome! I wonder if this is a subconscious thing coming out when they put these logo together.I’d be interested to find out if they were all men that designed the logos.
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