Presenting our new logo... :: Wessex Scene Online

Presenting our new logo...

The Day the Dolphin Died

6th June 2008
Bonnie Sung

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The recent re-brand means the dolphin is no more, but many are unconvinced by the new logo

The Southampton University dolphin logo is no more, following the recent unveiling of the new, somewhat controversial logo on 4 February.

The new University logo, which comes as part of the extensive re-branding scheme, comprises of just marine blue text and a simple font... and a price tag of Ł160,000. However, it is estimated that the total cost is Ł300,000.

Although this total does not just include the cost of producing a new logo, the figures have provoked criticism from many students and staff across the University. One lecturer in the Archaeology department commented: “It seems the University is extravagantly spending money at a time when it says it hasn’t got any.”

“Staff have been asked to tighten their belts and posts are not being replaced while the pay-rises given to senior staff have significantly outstripped the modest gains from the last pay dispute,” he added.

Whilst Ł160,000 is only a tenth of one percent of the University’s budget, it is equivalent to four senior lecturer posts for a year and 160 bursaries for students from low-income families. Along with plans to close the renowned Textile Conservation Centre in Winchester and the Physics department facing a funding crisis, it seems that the money could have been better spent elsewhere.

The revamping of the University’s image has been a lengthy process and one which intended to better reflect the University’s prestigious Russell Group status. It has been suggested that the dolphin logo was too similar to those used by the generation of ‘new universities,’ or former polytechnics.

Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adam Wheeler who led the rebranding project, commented: “Although the attitudes of friendliness and intelligence as represented by the dolphin are still core to the University’s identity, the dolphin logo can give a misleadingly narrow view of the breadth of disciplines offered by the University.”

He added: “We believe we have created a strong new visual identity that accurately reflects Southampton’s position as one of the UK’s top ten research universities and one of the top 80 universities in the world.”

However, the reviews of the logo have been disappointing, with many students feeling that their views have been neglected. The Wessex Scene has received many comments on the issue, with one student suggesting that the logo is “bland, impersonal and instantly forgettable.”

Another said that the simple ‘University of Southampton’ text “is not only dull as ditchwater, but the new text is the colour of ditchwater as well.” A ‘Bring Back the Dolphin’ Facebook group has also been setup by a Southampton student in memory of the deceased animal.

Not all students are disappointed to see the end of the Dolphin though, with one adding:“I’d rather have hostile and cold than a dolphin that made us look like a cheap and rundown council swimming pool.”

Although the logo may well achieve its goal in disassociating our University with former polytechnics, whether it “represents very clearly and unambiguously who we are, what we are” as believed by Professor Wheeler may ultimately depend on whether we see ourselves as cold and corporate.