Daniel Morin
The University of Ottawa has a new logo, one that in some respects will look very familiar to many long-time employees. And that’s just fine, according to vice-rector, university relations, David Mitchell.
“We did a lot of consultation within the University community and we engaged some of the best minds in the field of design and logo development in Canada to come up with the new logo,” Mitchell said. “The most popular idea to come out of that process is a stylized version of Tabaret Hall.”
That choice is especially appropriate since this year marks the 100th anniversary of the laying of the cornerstone of Tabaret Hall. “It’s a wonderful architectural symbol of the University of Ottawa,” Mitchell notes, “that reflects both our tradition as Canada’s university and our future as a national institution.”
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As part of the selection process, some 180 members of the University community took part in an online consultation on a number of possible designs last fall. Two finalists were chosen as a result and these were then presented to major University stakeholders, including the deans and directors, the brand council, the external relations committee of the Board of Governors and the administrative committee. “Internally, at least 75 percent of the people we surveyed favoured the new logo,” said marketing director, Paul Boult, who oversaw the selection process.
“We then tested the design externally with independently-run focus groups in Ottawa, Toronto and Montréal. The results were very positive. The four words that were most often used to describe the new logo were ‘powerful’, ‘prosperous’, ‘strong’, and ‘reputable’.”
While a stylized Tabaret motif has been used in the past, the new version has a more modern look, Boult noted.
“There is also a very notable additional element with the logo: the ‘uOttawa’ wordmark, which is bilingual and works well in both of Canada’s official languages. It replaces the large ‘Ottawa’ that figured prominently in the old logo with the captions ‘Université d’’ ‘University of’, which were repetitive and posed grammatical problems.”
“When the wordmark with its more modern typeface is used together with the Tabaret graphic element, it projects classic and historical qualities coupled with a forward-thinking and more contemporary view, which is exactly our University philosophy,” Boult said.
The selection of a new logo was seen as an important next step in the branding process that the University initiated last year. “We were searching for a more modern way to describe Canada’s university - the University of Ottawa today,” Mitchell said.
The University had been using the coat-of-arms as its visual representation since the mid 1990s. “The coat-of-arms wasn’t practical for everyday use,” Boult said, “especially since it didn’t reproduce well in smaller sizes.”
The logo, however, is not meant to replace the coat-of-arms. “That official symbol will continue to be used for Convocation and other ceremonial purposes,” Boult said.
The new logo will be used in a variety of communications media, including printed materials, publications, advertising and promotional items. The University is phasing in the introduction of the logo so that units will be able to clear old stock before ordering new material.
The Marketing Service is developing and will distribute and co-ordinate graphic standards that will govern every possible use of the logo internally and externally. The new logo and the standards will soon be easily accessible on a Web site dedicated to the University’s brand and image.
