The University of California is bowing to heavy criticism and suspending the use of a new logo. As Ben Adler reports, the monogram’s modern design sparked complaints from students and alumni.
The UC President’s office insists the logo was never meant for broad external use, just within the university, to distinguish system-wide communications from those of individual campuses. And most of the criticism didn’t come until several months after the logo was first used.
But the simple, sleek design, with a yellow C nestled at the bottom of a big blue shield shaped like a U, drew criticism as sleek, corporate and unworthy of a prestigious university. To some, the monagram’s C even looked like water swirling down a toilet.
More than 46,000 people signed an online petition urging the university to get rid of it. And while the top UC External Relations official says the logo has served the system well, he’s directing the communications team to stop using it. The university will re-evaluate the logo in the future.
