This week, Chalmers launched a new visual identity, based on the idea that all parts of the organisation should be connected through a shared design language. The launch has attracted significant attention, reflecting strong engagement, but also some misunderstandings.
Shortly after the announcement, students organised a petition in protest after many had interpreted a purple icon image on social media as Chalmers’ new logo and – incorrectly – concluded that Chalmers intended to remove its emblem, the so-called avancez mark.
‘What we are witnessing is how incredibly strong a connection many people have to Chalmers. At the same time, while parts of the criticism are based on misunderstandings, we must of course remain humble and listen carefully. Those of us tasked with managing and developing the brand can never fully own it, as its value arises in the eye of the beholder,’ says Chalmers’ Head of Communications, Ingrid Claesson.
The visual identity is a collective term for the set of logos, colours, typefaces and established design rules that make an organisation easy to recognise. In Chalmers’ case, the work to update the identity has been shaped by the need for different parts of the organisation to be immediately perceived as belonging to the overall Chalmers entity.
This level of consistency is new. Different parts of the university – as well as the various group companies – have previously often worked with entirely separate graphic profiles. This has made it difficult for external audiences to recognise that the activities are in fact connected.
What is now being launched is therefore an adjusted logo, in which the ‘A’ in the word Chalmers has been tilted forward as a nod to Chalmers’ forward-leaning motto: avancez. The logo has fully developed combination variants for, for example, all subsidiaries, making it clear that Chalmers Next Labs, Fastigheter and Ventures are all parts of Chalmers.
As part of the new identity, a purple profile colour is also being introduced and will appear in many contexts. The colour is a relatively unconventional choice in the university sector – a way to stand out, where most institutions stick to dark shades of blue and red.
It is also common for universities to have some form of emblem, a heraldic shield or similar. Here, Chalmers retains its avancez mark, in which a compass, blowpipe, hammer, set square and cogwheel are framed by an oak leaf wreath. The mark is fundamentally unchanged but has been carefully redrawn to function better in digital contexts.