Nuts about gums at new-look ECU

Edith Cowan U announces a “refreshed and modern brand identity,” using a gum-leaf motif

There is a reason for ECU’s new art – when Edith Cowan was running for the WA Legislative Assembly in 1921 she was told getting elected would be a “tough nut to crack.” She won and was the first woman to sit in an Australian parliament.

“This is a powerful visual statement of our innovation, ambition and dedication to empowering future generations through education,” is the pitch.

No it’s not – it is artwork that presents nothing about what ECU does, or what it will become – unless there are yet to be announced plans to refocus on the leaf business.

Logos can identify what a brand stands for – the Nike “swoosh” logo does. But not often – and rarely by universities. A university logo communicating teaching, research and service to all target markets would probably be best represented as a scatter-plot.

Beyond what new logos cost to create, there is a problem in thinking they communicate what a university does and the comms task is challenging, presenting what an institution offers to markets that need them.

“This brand identity reflects the exciting future of our university, exemplified by the development of ECU City, our state-of-the-art campus rising in the heart of Perth,” ECU announces and the logo-puff sells that.

But the message is way more than a gum-nut can bear.

Join Stephen Matchett and the Future Campus team at FC’s Brand Australia 2025 event. Canberra, February 24. 

Details HERE.

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