The current and former faculty members have opposed the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad’s decision to change its logo, The Hindu reported.
The existing logo will be replaced by two new symbols – one each for domestic and international audiences.
Forty faculty members have written a letter in which they have cited “far-reaching implications” of the change. The letter was submitted to the board of Governor Chairperson Kumar Mangalam Birla.
The existing logo, the faculty says, was adopted in 1961 and includes a Sanskrit verse ‘Vidya viniyogadvikasa’, which means development through the application of knowledge. This shloka is now only being used in the international logo.
The current logo, the letter contends, consists of a motif inspired by a jaali or grille of Sidi Saiyyed Mosque in Ahmedabad in the 16th century. In the new design, however, the impression of the mosque’s grille is less prominent, The Hindu reported.
“The logo is our identity – the ‘jaali’ and the Sanskrit verse define us and our Indian ethos,” the letter stated. “For us, it is a symbol of our Indianness, our connect with ‘vidya’, our link to the Institute.”
The letter also stated that inputs were not sought from the faculty members before changing the logo, The Indian Express reported.
“The faculty members were never informed that there is a need to redesign the logo,” the letter said. “Nor was a committee formed, that we are aware of, whose term of reference include logo redesign.”
Meanwhile, the business school’s governing body released a statement saying the proposed logo “continues the legacy of the original logo”.
It also said that the institute is in the process of revamping the website, and so, found it necessary to “refresh the logo”.
“The proposed logo retains the status line in Sanskrit [Vidya Viniyogad Vikasa] as in the original, the colour rendition has been improved, the fonts modernised, the jaali inspired brand mark has been made more amenable to communication in digital media, and the brand name made more distinct,” the institute’s statement read.
The new logo, it said, will be unveiled in June this year. “Evaluation, exploration, development of wordmark, development of brandmark were all kept in mind while coming up with the final design recommendations,” it added.
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