Viewpoint

Quit moaning! Make logos work!

By Brian Pratt

Back in 1989 how could I refuse a job offer right there on a letter sporting such a promising escutcheon: vert three champagne corks proper!

You can only imagine my dismay that these turned out to be wheat sheaves, a.k.a. stooks or shocks, ‘garbs’ in heraldic parlance. I discovered that the U of S was in the grip of a teetotalitarian Administration, and their social functions were dreary affairs with fruit punch, raw broccoli and soda crackers. But we soldiered on and we’re still here.

But oh my! All the fuss over ‘visual identity,’ logos and ‘branding’! I participated in one of those focus groups and, truth be told, our group didn’t like the new designs – but what did we know? We were members of the U of S community and thus already tricked into coming here. In that meeting I suggested not to worry about that pimply, colour-blind kid from Down East thinking he had arrived to McGill or Queen’s only to discover his blunder and no block heater. So let’s really use the logo: sell it! rent it! celebrate it! treat it like a living being! We can modify it weekly, monthly or even annually. We could devote space to corporate logos if the price is right!

Well, of paramount importance are sports, and this year it is certainly time to celebrate the football team (unless of course they lose):

Here is also the place to honour those who manage to be not just favourite professors but also to profess preeminence, and to remain astonishingly cheerful throughout all that adversity. However, if in the eyes of The Administration that great professor falls from grace:

In this day and age it is time to close the book on Latin (and books apparently) and also acknowledge who really pays the bills around here:

In good U of S tradition, we could use our dear escutcheon to make political statements, such as with this vert book central two garbs proper and bunny white on black:

But, when all is said and done, what ultimately makes the world go ‘round at U of S is The Administration. Without their Leadership, their Wisdom, their Profound Feel for What’s Right and their Knowing What You Should Be …

So, to each of you my friends, I say avert thine eyes from thy navel and cast them upon the silver lining to this cloud! Lectures are about to give way to painful marking of essays and exams, thankfully interspersed with restorative (real) cocktail parties. “Happy holidays” from your champagne-drinking pal on Murphy Crescent:

Brian Pratt is a U of S professor of Geological Sciences