Loughborough University rebrands again following student protests

Loughborough University has rebranded itself for the second time this year, reintroducing the university’s coat of arms.

The new visual identity follows a rebrand in April, which had its rollout halted as a result of a student petition that saw more than 12,000 signatures.

The halted rebrand, designed by Loughborough University’s in-house design team and consultancy Campbell Rowley, saw the replacement of the university’s crest with a pink octagonal shape that had the letters “LU” inside it.

The petition claimed the new identity lacked the “prestige, heritage and respect” of the purple and pink shield emblem it had replaced.

The newly revised logo, reworked by the university’s in-house design team, now sees the removal of this pink octagonal shape, and the reinstatement of the university crest. It has also tweaked the wordmark implemented in the April rebrand, the typeface for which now appears less rounded.

A spokesperson at Loughborough University says: “We received a lot of comments from our students, graduates and staff on the logo that was proposed in April this year, and therefore took the decision to pause the development of our visual identity to digest their feedback and to bring forward new proposals.

“The comments we received focused very strongly on pride, heritage and reputation and we have reflected this more centrally in the latest device, which is a simplified version of the University’s coat of arms. We also plan to make more strategic use of the original coat of arms where this is appropriate.

“We recognise that the logo is important to all those who care passionately about the university. We have listened to the things that matter to our community and the new identity takes us back to our roots but in a modern context that provides the online flexibility we need.”

The new logo also sees the pink colour, which was introduced to the university’s identity in 1996, removed from the main university brandmark – but it has been applied to the branding for the university’s new campus, Loughborough University London.

On the pink colour, the spokesperson says: “When included in the new logo (which we tested), the consensus was that it didn’t work. It will however remain a primary colour that will be strongly embedded in our materials.”

“The pink remains an important part of our colour palette and has been used to link between Loughborough and the new Loughborough University London campus.”

The university adds that it has consulted with students, alumni and staff on the revised visual identity and that feedback has “generally been positive.”

The university provided an updates to its key stakeholders yesterday, and has begun the roll out of the new branding today.