A new visual identity for Concordia
I am very pleased to inform you that at its January 18th meeting, the Board of Governors approved a new logo for Concordia University. This is the fourth time in Concordia’s history that it has updated its logo to better reflect its development, its profile, its values, and its place within the contemporary North American university landscape. The new logo reflects our pride in our past and our confidence in our future.
The decision to proceed with a new visual identity for Concordia is the culmination of more than a year of work that began with a far-reaching reputational study that was conducted by the Office of the Provost with the support of University Communications Services using the expertise of The Strategic Counsel. More than a third of all faculty and staff, and 4,223 students took part in the study, as did thousands of applicants, alumni, and business and opinion leaders. Through this process, we gained an objective view of how our institution is perceived both internally and in the external communities with whom we collaborate and interact.
The overwhelming view of Concordia is that we are a daring, approachable and engaged university; an institution that is rich in diversity and committed to the highest standards of learning and research.
Based on this information, University Communications Services was given the mandate to examine how Concordia communicates its key messages visually, in speeches, and through published and electronic media. They identified four characteristics as being essential guides for our visual expression and key messages. These are: high quality, daring, diversity, and approachability.
Working with an internal group of graphic designers and two outside design teams, members of UCS undertook a process of developing a new logo, and having it evaluated by members of the faculty and staff, students, board members, alumni and friends of the University. The enthusiasm and encouragement generated by this new logo was heartening, and culminated in this morning’s decision by the Board of Governors.
Our logo is a symbol of our commitment to innovation, excellence and involvement in our community. It reflects our growth and development, the renewal of our campuses, and above all our vision of becoming a leading university in Canada.
All Concordians and alumni from each of our founding institutions should be proud of this logo. It preserves our heritage by maintaining the emblems that speak so eloquently of our past, and transforms these symbols into a dynamic expression of our confidence in our future.
I would like to thank the Office of the Provost and University Communications Services who worked so hard on this project and in particular the Marketing Communications Department, who spearheaded the process.
Today we have a new visual identity that communicates our forward-looking vision to the world. We must now deliver on our promise and meet the challenges of reinforcing our academic and research profile as we step boldly into the future.
Claude Lajeunesse
President, Concordia University
More information will be available in the days to come at http://web2.concordia.ca/mrkcom/newvision/, on News@Concordia and the pages of the Concordia Journal.
