The University of California (UC), a truly wonderful organization, seems to have made a misstep with its new logo. Below on the left is the old logo and on the right is the new logo.
I did a poll here that got a huge response on what people thought the new symbol represented.
Just 2% of respondents thought it represented the UC System.
Ouch.
Whoever made that logo apparently did a disastrous job.
What no focus group testing?
It is sad to think of potentially millions of dollars having been spent on a terrible new logo. I also honestly cannot imagine seeing it all the time on my letterhead, etc. I hope they reconsider.
What is interesting and frankly funny are people’s reactions to the logo.
Most people thought it looks like a flushing toilet.
Then some people thought it looked like a worm that scientists often use in research called C. Elegans.
Others thought it looked like that little spinning symbol you get when a webpage is loading (very clever–wish I had included that in my poll).
Another person had one that kinda stabbed to the heart: a book with all the knowledge draining out of it.
As of Wednesday morning, more than 50,000 people had signed a petition to stop the new logo.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom Tweeted: “As member of (the) UC Board of Regents, I agree with petition, new logo is a disaster. Sign the petition.”
Jason Simon, a UC spokesperson, was quoted on the petition website:
This is not an either/or situation — we are not trading in the seal for the new mark. The seal will continue to be used to represent the UC system. Additionally, this does not replace or take the place of any campus identities.
Apparently, the new logo is part of a new advertising campaign “Onward California” seeking to make UC seems more hip?
Very awkward!