Art and Culture, Social Media, Web

The University of Waterloo was preparing for a dramatic rebranding initiative when its new logo was prematurely leaked – to a tidal wave of derision from students and alumni. As you can see below, the new logo is a dramatic departure from the more traditional current incarnation on the left. 

Students, alumni and others have adopted a full-court press fueled by social media to express their disapproval, often in creative, thoughtful and sometimes hilarious fashion. This grassroots effort includes:

• A rapidly growing Facebook group with membership exceeding 8,000 as of this writing .
• A frequently-used twitter hashtag (#UWLogo)
• Online petitions
• A mock logo generator site called the ‘University of Waterpew’

Incidentally, the ‘pew’ motif refers to the multi-coloured lines within the ‘W’, which are thought to closely resemble lasers. This would explain some of the art that involve ‘Dr. Evil’s sharks with laser beams attached to their heads’.

The Facebook group contains a good summary of events to date, including replies from the school (who had to say something given the amount of feedback). Worth checking out is the mashed up fan art involving the logo under ‘Photos’ and…[abridged list] Tron, Richard Simmons, Dr. Evil, Cookie Monster, Captain Picard, Xzibit, Rick Astley and more.