IISc's new logo doesn't wash with some students

An aerial view of the new IISc logo formed by students, faculty and staff at the IISc campus in Bengaluru on Tuesday. DH Photo

The unveiling of a new logo for the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on Tuesday created a furore among some students who described it as too mediocre for a prestigious institution like theirs.

According to the director of the institute, Dr Anurag Kumar, the move had been prompted by a need to replace the many rusting signboards adorned with random logos appearing across the campus.

The administration said that they sought inspiration from other premier universities in the world, including Berkeley and Caltech. Following a two-year process, the brand team, headed by Professor Kaushal Verma, coupled with VGC, a Mumbai-based art firm, decided on a new, atomic-symbol themed logo.

Most of them in the administration believed that the branding, coupled with the new logo, would be greeted with approval by the student community.

But they were taken aback on Tuesday when an event to launch the new brand attracted the ire of a section of the student body which protested that the institute’s 67-year-old emblem of a torch enclosed within a laurel wreath, would be replaced by what one first year-student described as a copy of the "Ariel detergent logo".

A few students that DH spoke to expressed satisfaction at the new emblem. When the institute organised a human formation to reflect the new logo, a freshman turned up with a copy of the Ariel detergent logo taped to the front of his shirt and joined the formation.

When asked if this was a sign of protest, he shrugged, smiling: "No, I like our new logo and I like the Ariel detergent logo," he said.

Dr Kumar expressed disappointment at the turn of events. "I was hoping we would have a happy, joyous event," he said.

A member of the student council said that the furore really began 24 hours before, when a three-hour WhatsApp poll by the council which attracted 2,400 votes out of the 4,000-strong student body, culminated in a 90% vote against the new logo.

Dr Kumar specified that while the new logo would adorn official documents, MoUs and letterheads, the original emblem was being turned into a seal to be used on other documents.