The “U” will soon become more visible in University of Miami life, as the athletic symbol will inspire a redesign of the school’s general logo, replacing the current Miami bar logo.
“The current bar logo has been around a long time and is dated,” said Jacqueline Menendez, the vice president of Communication. “It does not represent who we are right now.”
According to Menendez, this change will better represent UM’s research and improved student body. The Miller School of Medicine currently uses the split-U design logo for UHealth, a national symbol used for its network of university medical facilities.
Studies were conducted in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles and found that prospective students and their parents like this brand. These studies were conducted in these cities as a large amount of UM’s student body come from these areas.
Alumni also had positive feelings towards this design. The new logo will look very similar to the athletic “U” design with subtle changes.
“We are going to capitalize with what athletics had done,” Menendez said.
“The ‘U’ is recognized as a sports symbol as it is on our football field,” SG President Lionel Moise said. “It is now going to be an academic symbol as well. It is going to be on our academic documents.”
Moise and former president Brandon Gross met with Todd Ellerberg, the assistant vice president for communication and marketing, to be informed of the change. Also discussed in this meeting were the new rules that will be developed on the use of the “U.”
Student organizations that use the symbol will not be too affected by the new reputation of the icon, according to Moise. However, the use of the symbol will be more regulated for its use outside of the university.
Logos are very important to an organization and its communication with its audience, according to Mariah Fox Hausman, a full-time lecturer in the department of Art and Art History.
“I think the logo is really important to any brand company organization because it helps to make a connection between society and the company,” she said.
Currently, the different schools are being met with to discuss this topic. The future campaign to launch this change has not yet been named.