BY Armin

The Long, Winding R

Perhaps one of the most underrated and overlooked aspects of identity design is that done for universities. Typically typographic-driven, these identities are low-key and rarely too distinct; understated and elegant is the name of the game; and “a workhorse” is the most sought-after quality, as the identity must accommodate dozens of programs, schools, divisions and more in hundreds of applications. Coming up with unique and proprietary characteristics for a university wordmark is usually the challenge. In its elongated R and funny-serifed U, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has found an identity that saves it from 20 years of different and inconsistent identities.

Designed by Chicago-based Lipman Hearne — one of the most prolific design firms of university materials — the new identity is one more step in establishing a better message and improve communications for Rutgers in order to attract (and retain) the best possible alumni and faculty — a concern all too relevant for all universities. While the Rutgers identity is nothing extraordinary — and perhaps even too eclectic in the slightly unconventional serif type choice (as it’s not classical enough, but not modern enough either, making no statement at all) — it is distinct and personal to the university, emphasizing the peculiar name. (Peculiar, at least to my ears).

Rutgers contracted Lipman Hearne to the tune of a one-year contract reportedly worth US$500,000 to help develop the message, the identity and the implementation. A figure that sounds high, but considering the amount of work that goes into developing an identity for a university — numerous meetings with boards and committees alone justifies the price, I think — it seems par for the course. It is also inevitable not to raise eyebrows and scorn from those within the community: In an article subtitled “Spending thousands to improve image that won’t change”, the Daily Targum questions the decision to spend so much money on an outside firm by writing, “If administrators really feel the need to revamp the school’s image, they should do it in house and not waste millions of the school’s dollars on it. Mason Gross School of the Arts has an excellent graphic design program, and the business school has plenty of professors who study advertising.” When I first read the press release for the identity I silently giggled at one line, “A visual identity system is a set of professionally designed graphic marks that are approved for use when an institution’s name is displayed in various media and formats.” [Emphasis mine]. It seemed a funny distinction to make in a press release, but a poignant one nonetheless: University identities might seem simplistic but, in reality, they are no child’s play.

The identity includes a simplified (or “informal”) seal and the retention of the block R as a “spirit mark”.

\n\nPerhaps one of the most underrated and overlooked aspects of identity design is that done for universities. Typically typographic-driven, these identities are low-key and rarely too distinct; understated and elegant is the name of the game; and \"a workhorse\" is the most sought-after quality, as the identity must accommodate dozens of programs, schools, divisions and more in hundreds of applications. Coming up with unique and proprietary characteristics for a university wordmark is usually the challenge. In its elongated R and funny-serifed U, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has found an identity that saves it from 20 years of different and inconsistent identities.

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