UNIVERSITY LOGO AS A CREOLIZED TEXT. PART II

Vashunina I.V.

All-Russian Academy of Foreign Trade of the Ministry
economic development of the Russian Federation
Moscow, Russia
e-mail: vashunina@yandex.ru

This study continues a previously undertaken investigation of creolized text in university logos (the results are published in [2]). In the previous phase, the logos of 108 Moscow universities were examined, serving students in various fields: classical universities, technical universities, natural science universities, medical universities, humanities universities, economic universities, pedagogical universities, educational institutions offering instruction in various arts, and specialized universities. The study identified several patterns in the representation of universities through creolized text in their logos, and hypotheses were developed. The present study is being conducted with the aim of verifying these hypotheses using new material.

The logos of universities from the global rankings (the top 100 universities [4]) were used as material. The number 100 was determined based on the convenience of presenting statistical data: identified features in the presentation of information in creolized text are automatically converted into percentages (for example, if the founding date is represented in the logos of 12 universities, then this represents 12 percent of the total number of universities).

The following provisions were subject to verification.

1. The year of foundation is typically indicated numerically by older universities that are proud of their history. Younger institutions, whose activities began less than half a century ago, generally don't consider it necessary to indicate the year of foundation, as they rightly believe it won't add any points.

Since the top-100 universities in the rankings had to go through quite a long path to become leaders in the field of education, they should have long-standing foundation dates and deservedly be proud of this (include the foundation date on the logo).

2. Latin expressions appear on the logos of universities where Latin is traditionally studied (mostly law schools). Latin expressions typically serve as mottos.

The top 100 universities include many classical universities, so it's reasonable to assume that Latin phrases may appear on their logos. This is especially true for European universities, where Latin is often studied in gymnasiums and universities, and Latin is traditionally considered the language of the educated. The percentage of institutions with Latin phrases on their logos should likely be higher than in the Moscow university selection.

3. Logos can be categorized by pragmatic criteria, focusing on the accessibility/understandability of information for non-specialist recipients. Some logos are based on visual images and are fully or largely understandable to recipients. The use of coats of arms in university logos results in only a small portion of the information they contain reaching recipients (due to a lack of knowledge of the basics of heraldry, as well as a lack of desire or ability to examine the logo for long periods). Other logos feature symbolic images whose overall meaning is constructed from imaginary images, as well as lettering of university names without images, but with additional design effects (using font and letter color).

In relation to the new material, one can assume the active use of coats of arms in the logos of universities in the top 100 rankings, as the semantics of a coat of arms (significance, tradition, stability) correspond to the represented qualities of these academic institutions. Other characteristics, including the distribution of logos among pragmatic classification groups, are difficult to predict theoretically.

4. The following provisions concern the formal side of the visual component of the creolized logo text.

A fairly common form of logos is a circle or an elongated circle, symbolizing integrity, completeness and harmony.

Most logos are dissymmetrical (have violations of pure symmetry): differences are found in the two symmetrical parts of the image and in the content of identical shapes. Some logos exhibit symmetry (mostly mirror-image), demonstrating stability, solidity, and significance. Complete asymmetry is rare. Pure asymmetry and violations of symmetry are found in the logos of universities specializing in art and are practically nonexistent in the logos of classical universities.

Blue, the color of seriousness and depth, is the most common color in logos. Red is next, but is rarely used as a sole color. Other colors are used rarely (mostly as heraldic colors: yellow and green).

The top 100 universities are reputable, classical, or technical institutions; there are no universities specializing in art among them. Therefore, a rounded, symmetrical logo shape and frequent use of the color blue are expected.

5. The logo's perceptible content includes: the university's affiliation with the state, ministerial, or departmental level (presence of state and departmental symbols); the classic type of university (symmetry and roundness); the completeness and thoroughness of education (roundness, circle); seriousness (blue color); development and growth (symbolic representation of growth and enlargement); the educational institution (educational symbols); and the specific specialty of study (symbolic representation of the profession).

Logos of the top hundred universities may obviously include state, territorial, and educational symbols, designation of the classic type of university, and symbolic representations of specialty, development, growth, and seriousness.

Let's turn to testing the hypotheses.

The logos of 13 universities contain their founding dates: one university each from the 14th, 17th, and 18th centuries, six universities from the 19th century, and four universities from the 20th century. The youngest university whose logo includes its founding date (1958) is University of Science and Technology of China. The oldest (1398) is Sungkyunkwan University. However, not all educational institutions with a long history list their founding year. For example, the logos of Harvard University (1636), the University of Oxford (1167), and the University of Cambridge (1209) do not include such information.

Latin mottos and sayings appear on the logos of 18 universities, including Harvard University, the University of Oxford, Princeton University, The University of Hong Kong (Fig. 1), Seoul National University – not only European universities. This fact demonstrates that, despite the long history of some non-European and non-American educational institutions, they are still trying to integrate into the classical European educational paradigm. Logo Yale University besides Latin

The statement contains a Hebrew statement, the translation of which is the Latin text located on the ribbon below.

Fig. 1	Fig. 2	Fig. 3

The logos of 31 universities (almost every third university in the top 100) are stylized heraldically. We define heraldic stylization as the presence of a heraldic shield (sometimes with divisions) and the use of heraldic symbols: animals, wreaths, ribbons, and heraldic colors. The percentage of heraldic logos among universities in the top 100 is twice as high as among all Moscow universities. Moreover, the coats of arms themselves are more complex than those of most Moscow universities, and they use more heraldic symbols unrelated to education, such as images of dragons, as in the logo. The University of Hong Kong (Fig. 1), owls (logo Rice University – Fig. 2), swan (logo The University of Western Australia – Fig. 3).

It should also be noted that coats of arms are often difficult for the general public to understand. For example, the logo University of Bristol (Fig. 4) contains symbols dedicated to Wills, Fry and Colston – entrepreneurs who provided material support to the educational institution and practically ensured its prosperity: the sun for the Wills family, a dolphin for Colston, a horse for Fry and a ship, as well as a castle from the medieval seal of the city of Bristol [1].

The basis of logo semantics, from a pragmatic perspective, can be considered a certain elitism and selectivity regarding the recipient: the image is not considered in terms of clarity, accessibility, or the representation of explicit meanings. On the contrary, only a knowledgeable, dedicated, or interested person can understand it.

Fig. 4	Fig. 5	Fig. 6	Fig. 7

The logos of 43 universities are symmetrical. We considered logos symmetrical if they had not only completely identical halves (as, for example, the logo Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) – Fig. 5), but also in the absence of a striking difference in the content of identical forms (mainly in coat of arms logos, such as in the logo University of Toronto – Fig. 6). If there is a noticeable difference in the content of identical forms (for example, a logo Johns Hopkins University – Fig. 7), as well as in the case of some violation of symmetry (as in the logo Korea University – Fig. 8), the logos were considered asymmetrical (25 logos in total). Thus, 68 percent of the logos are fully or partially symmetrical.

Fig. 8	Fig. 9	Fig. 10

If we exclude from consideration university logos that represent their names without images (there are 21 such logos), it turns out that only 11 percent of universities have asymmetrical logos. Moreover, in the vast majority of cases, these logos also contain symmetrical elements (for example, the logo University of Leeds – Fig. 9). Real asymmetry, specially created (as in the logo City University of Hong Kong – Fig. 10), is a rare occurrence for logos of universities in the top hundred.

Thus, it can be considered that symmetry is typical for the logos of universities in the top hundred of the ranking, while one of the components of the content of the creolized text of the logo is harmony, completeness, and the classical character (of education).

Let's look at the color scheme. Blue is the most common color: 52 university logos feature various shades of blue. Red/burgundy follows, appearing in 30 logos. These typically feature elements of red (Fig. 1), although completely red logos are also found (Fig. 4).

Other colors are less common. This includes heraldic yellow, for example, in the logo. The University of Sheffield (Fig. 11), in several logos green, for example in the logo Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) (Fig. 12). 9 logos are made in black and white color scheme: it creates a feeling of severity, classicism, for example, the logo Monash University (Fig. 13).

Fig. 11	Fig. 12	Fig. 13

Let's consider the pragmatic classification that was compiled based on the analysis of Moscow university logos, as applied to the material in this article. In total, we identified seven groups of logos with varying pragmatic potential. In the logos of the first group, the image content is completely clear and corresponds to our representational patterns. Among the universities in the top 100 global rankings, only one such logo was found. Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Tech) (Fig. 5).

Fig. 14	Fig. 15	Fig. 16	Fig. 17

In the present study, we do not distinguish logos of the second group (understandable to recipients, based on representational images, but containing some details subject to interpretation) from logos of the third group (understandable to recipients, but not based on representational images). On this basis, the Moscow State University logo (Fig. 14) was considered to belong to the second group, and other universities with images of academic buildings to the third, because the silhouette of the main building of Moscow State University is familiar to all Russians, which cannot be said about the buildings of other educational institutions. Since we cannot always determine the degree of familiarity of the objects of new research to the general recipient, both groups are considered together. A total of 11 university logos were found that were classified into these groups, for example, the logo Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) (Fig. 15), logo University of Nottingham (Fig. 16), logo Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg (Fig. 17).

The fourth group of logos contains individual, easily understandable details, yet it's clear to the recipient that the logo's content is significantly broader. These include heraldic logos and logos incorporating symbols of the corresponding territories, such as the black swan, the symbol of South Australia (Fig. 3), and the tiger, the symbol of Korea (Fig. 8).

With regard to the logos of all the groups considered above, except for the first, it should be noted that the images on the logos, although they may be fully understandable (for example, Fig. 4, Fig. 8) or partially (for example, the University of Cambridge logo – Fig. 18, National Taiwan University (NTU) – Fig. 19), however, in many cases, the connection of the images to the educational theme and/or the field of study is unclear. Twenty-five such logos were found, a large percentage suggesting a lack of clarity requirements for university symbols. In this regard, there is a significant difference from the logos of Moscow universities, which are, in the overwhelming majority of cases, clear.

Fig. 18	Fig. 19	Fig. 20	Fig. 21

The fifth group of logos contains a symbolic image understandable to recipients, and some details with specific content that usually escapes the attention of recipients. The most common image in the logos of universities in the top 100 rankings (in 22 cases, for example, Fig. 1, Fig. 7, Fig. 11) is a book, which should probably be recognized as the primary symbol of knowledge acquisition. This image is often included in coats of arms. The image of a tree can be found – in only three logos, for example, the logo Kyoto University (Fig. 20), however, this is not associated with the symbolism of growth (as in the logos of Moscow universities); for example, Fig. 20 is interpreted as a tree of knowledge. There are also national traditions; for example, in Japan, the logos of most universities contain a plant composition [3, p. 13].

A study of Moscow university logos revealed logos that lack content and rely solely on formality: color, the shape of the iconic portion of the creolized text. Analysis of this study's data shows that this group is not represented among the logos of universities in the top 100 global rankings.

The seventh group of logos lacks an image, but we can talk about the visual design features of the verbal component. Their visual component is the design features of the verbal component. All universities whose logos lack a visual component have replaced their old logos with images and new verbal ones. For example, the old (Fig. 21) and new (Fig. 22) logos University of California, Berkeley (UCB), old (Fig. 23) and new (Fig. 24) logos The University of Manchester. The color scheme of the previous logo is usually retained; it is related to the colors that the educational institution has chosen as its symbols (the choice always has some explanation, usually unrelated to the educational process).

Fig. 22	Fig. 23	Fig. 24

To sum up, we can define the main content of logos that is understandable to the general recipient.

They can inform that this university

– is located in a specific territory – this is shown by unofficial state symbols (for example, the Korean tiger), symbols of individual territories and administrative entities;

- is a classical university, usually with a long history - these are universities with symmetrical, heraldic logos, indicating the date of foundation;

– is an institution of European standard/tradition – this is indicated by the use of Latin in the logos;

– is a serious institution, they gain knowledge (acquire wisdom) – universities with blue logos;

- this is a place where people study (universities with logos of educational symbols);

– this is a place where people learn something specific, receive an education in a specific field, in a specific industry; such logos are few in number, and they belong to technical universities, while the top hundred are mostly represented by universities with a broad focus.

This is not a place for everyone, only for the initiated and interested. The logos of most of the top hundred universities are incomprehensible to the general public, even if they recognize the objects in the image; the connection with education and the given educational institution is practically impossible to establish.

Let's look at the main differences between the logos of the top 100 universities in the ranking and those of Moscow universities. Unlike the Moscow universities, no instances of official state symbols or departmental symbols were found.

The use of heraldry in the logos of top-100 universities is significantly more common than in the logos of Moscow-based universities. The active use of heraldry in the logos of top-100 universities helps to highlight the visual semantics of a heraldic logo: significance, tradition, and stability.

Unlike the logos of Moscow universities, the top hundred universities do not contain symbols of growth and expansion.

Latin is used significantly more frequently in the logos of universities in the top 100 rankings than in the logos of Moscow universities. This is likely due to the fact that Latin is rarely studied in Russia. Although universities in Asia, Australia, and South America demonstrate high levels of education and rank in the top 100 rankings, the primary benchmark remains the European standard, as evidenced by the use of Latin in their logos.

The logos of the top 100 universities were found to appeal to a different layer of knowledge (compared to the logos of Moscow universities): for example, references to animalistic, historical, and mythological symbolism (Fig. 8, Fig. 4, many heraldic logos). This information is unrelated to the educational process, is known only to a certain circle of recipients based on cultural proximity, and is significantly limited geographically. Logos of Moscow universities generally do not contain such information.

The main difference between the creolized text of the logos of Moscow universities and those of the top 100 universities is the following. A significant component of the semantics of the logos of the top 100 universities is elitism. The logos are generally incomprehensible, in contrast to the logos of Moscow universities, which primarily serve a presentational function. The observed shift in logos (from complex, usually emblematic) to simpler ones (usually simply verbal, presented in a specific font and/or on a colored background) occurs within the framework of a cognitive paradigm: the information contained in logos refers to the recipient's existing knowledge. At the same time, the simplification of form complicates the process of comprehending the logo, because its graphic and color design appears unmotivated, whereas the "old" complex logos contained a wealth of visual information, allowing for the interpretation of the presented forms and colors. In this regard, the question of how the meaning-formation of the creolized text of the logo occurs is interesting: will there not be significant differences between what is intended by the addresser and what the addressee understands (if we assume that on his part he relies on images of consciousness, and not on knowledge).

Literature

1. University of Bristol// Wikipedia [Electronic resource]. URL: https://wikichi.ru/wiki/University_of_Bristol#Logo_and_arms (date accessed 01.11.2021).
2. Vashunina I.V. University logo as a creolized text // Organizational psycholinguistics. 2020. No. 4 (12). P. 44-70.
3. Vorobyova T.Yu. Design of graphic symbols of Japanese universities// Interactive science. 2018. No. 6. P. 13-15.
4. QS World University Rankings 2021: Top Global Universities [Electronic resource]. URL: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2021#page-3 (date accessed 01.11.2021).

References

1. Bristol'skij universitet - University of Bristol. Wikipedia [Electronic resource]. URL: https://wikichi.ru/wiki/University_of_Bristol#Logo_and_arms (date of treatment 01.11.2021).
2. Vashunina IV. (2020) Logotip vuza kak kreolizovannyj tekst [Logo of Higher Educational Institution as a Creolized Text]. Organizacionnaja psiholingvistika [Organizational Psycholinguistics], 4, pp. 44-70.
3. Vorob'eva T.Ju. (2018) Graphic Design of Japanese University Symbols. Interactive science, 6, pp. 13–15.
4. QS World University Rankings 2021: Top Global Universities [Electronic resource]. URL: https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-university-rankings/2021#page-3 (date of treatment 01.11.2021).