University launches stylish new visual image
February 2008 sees the launch of the University's exciting new visual identity.
The University of Southampton, one of the UK's leading international universities, is complementing its world-class credentials with the launch of a new visual identity for the 21st century - one that focuses strongly on its name.
'The University of Southampton is recognised internationally for the quality of its teaching and research and our name is our most important and enduring identifying factor,' explains Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adam Wheeler, who led the project to develop the new visual identity.
'Not only is our name instantly recognisable but importantly, in the context of modern global communications and the Internet, it represents very clearly and unambiguously who we are, what we are, and where we are.
'With its stylish design, we believe we have created a strong new visual identity that accurately reflects Southampton's position as one of the UK's top 10 research universities and one of the top 80 universities in the world.'
The University's current dolphin logo is now 15 years old and is very much of its time. Although the attributes 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 of Southampton, says Professor Wheeler.
'It is important that our visual identity reflects very clearly what we are, which is a prestigious UK university with an international reputation, a cutting-edge research profile across a wide range of disciplines, and strong links with business, enterprise and our region.
'This new visual identity has been developed for flexibility of use across the University and across disciplines, and has the potential to evolve over time. I believe it will serve us very effectively in representing the excellence of the University of Southampton in a visual context.'
Notes for editors
The University of Southampton is a leading UK teaching and research institution with a global reputation for leading-edge research and scholarship. It is one of the UK's top 10 research universities, offering first-rate opportunities and facilities for study and research across a wide range of subjects in humanities, health, science and engineering. The University has around 20,000 students and over 5000 staff. Its annual turnover is in the region of £310 million.
The University is one of the country's top institutions for engineering, computer science and medicine, and has a strong enterprise agenda. It is home to a range of world-leading research centres, including the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, the Institute of Sound and Vibration Research, the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the Centre for the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease, and the Mountbatten Centre for International Studies.
For further information and images of the new visual identity contact:
Glenn Harris, Sarah Watts, or Sue Wilson, Communications, University of Southampton,
Tel. 023 8059 3212, 023 8059 5457
Email g.harris@soton.ac.uk or s.j.e.wilson@soton.ac.uk .