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Steven Noble
Editor, Internal Publications
p. 403.440.5692
e-mail: snoble@mtroyal.ca

Fred Cheney
Media Relations Officer
p. 403.440.5195
e-mail: fcheney@mtroyal.ca

 

When you look at Mount Royal University’s new logo, what do you see?

Face Time conducted a random sampling of the campus community and discovered that, for some, it might depend on their role at Mount Royal.

“I see a maple leaf — but the sections of the maple leaf remind me of open books,” says Librarian and Assistant Professor Katharine Barrette. “Is that just because I'm a librarian?”

For others, like Robyn Ayles, technical program coordinator and production manager with the Department of Theatre, Speech and Music Performance, the logo carries a spark of drama.

“I see the ‘M’ for Mount Royal and a maple leaf,” Ayles says. “When it is smaller, it looks like a burst of energy.”

Logo wear More than 500 T-shirts with Mount Royal’s new logo sold out at the BookStore after going on sale this morning. A second order has been placed and more T-shirts will be available for purchase at the same special half-price of $6.50 on March 4 and 5, while quantities last. Departmental group orders can be made through Deb Forrest, general merchandise buyer, BookStore, by 4 p.m. today.

Some say it reminds them of something they have seen somewhere else.

Angela Spinner, administrative assistant to the Director of the School of Nursing, says, “The first time I saw the choices for the new logo, two of them reminded me of other universities, and I was concerned it would become confusing.”

Still, Spinner thinks that the new logo shows that Mount Royal has become something different and new.
“The new logo shows a new beginning and a more collegiate look than our previous logo. It reflects a place of learning as well.

“It shows as an institution we have history — 100 years — giving validity to our programs.”

The one person at Mount Royal who has been most closely involved with the new logo project may also be the one person who has recognized another shape within the logo’s design.

Director of Marketing Lucille Gnanasihamany says that what actually inspired the logo’s icon is the architecture on campus.

Gnanasihamany worked closely with Cundari, a design firm that was selected through an extensive Request for Proposal process that saw more than 30 firms compete for the project.

Architecture inspired

In July and August, a four-person creative team from Cundari visited Mount Royal to conduct interviews, explore the Archives and tour the campus. During the tour, they took note of the architecture they saw.

“What actually inspired the original design is the triangulated, diagonal shape you’ll see again and again in our architecture. If you walk around campus, you’ll see it in the East Gate, the West Gate, in the peak of the Carillon,” Gnanasihamany says.

“I just get a little chuckle out of the fact that no one seems to see that in the logo.

“The ‘M,’ the maple leaf, the three folded forms and our name and founding date all make the logo distinctive, but what actually inspired it is even more uniquely Mount Royal.”

Gnanasihamany says that the drive to be distinctive is a key part of logo best practice, but it’s not the only consideration.

“A logo needs to be memorable but it also needs to show that Mount Royal is a credible ‘member of the club,’ so to speak,” she explains.

“It needs to show that we fit within the university landscape, both provincially and within that group of primarily undergraduate universities in which we’d like to make our mark in terms of student success and satisfaction — institutions like Mount Saint Vincent, Acadia, Mount Allison and others.”

Emotional response

First-year Bachelor of Science student Monique Cameron sees that in the logo.

“I think it looks like Mount Royal is becoming more professional,” she says. “It’s coming up to that university class.”

Ayles says she’s not sure yet how the new logo makes her feel.

“In general, I like it. It has a sense of tradition about it, and I think that is a good thing. And no, it's not just the year at the bottom of the logo that makes me say that,” Ayles says. “I’m not actually sure what colours are in it. I miss the actual royal blue — but not so much I'm going to lie awake nights pining over it.

“I like its clean, clear geometric lines. It seems serious and professional, but uncluttered.”

For Barrette, the new logo brings some very minor conflicting emotions.

“It makes me sad that the cross-out logo is gone,” she says. “I thought it was awfully cute and many people from outside of MRU really thought it was clever!”

“But, it feels pretty good to see our new University logo, like a little surge of pride. It looks crisp and not particularly traditional.”

How does the new logo make Gnanasihamany feel?

“I think it’s a beautiful logo,” she says simply. “If there was one thing I’d want to tell people, it’s feel proud. Wear it liberally. Show it off.”

— Nancy Cope, Feb. 25, 2010

Using the logo Mount Royal is encouraging all faculties and departments to use up existing supplies of materials with the old logo before ordering materials with the new logo. Face Time asked Debbie Way, manager of Document Services, for her top tips on working with the new logo and on ordering new materials: 1. Keep the logo proportionate. Be careful not to stretch it horizontally or vertically. To keep the logo proportionate, hold down the shift key when resizing your logo. 2. The new logo should be printed in either two colour or black and white. 3. Read the graphic guidelines before creating your files. If your files do not follow these guidelines, Document Services will need to return your files unprinted. 4. Be patient. We will be trying our best to get everything printed as quickly as possible. 5. The more standard the order, the quicker you will receive it. Anything custom will add to the timeline. 6. Faculty should order their business cards before they leave on June 15 if they want them to be ready for the beginning of September. We will be very busy printing course packs in August and September and business cards cannot be a priority. 4. May and June are our slowest months of the year and a great time to get your printing done. Download the logo and guidelines.