Imperial College LondonCopied

Imperial's previous identity dated from the 1990s and, according to Pentagram, never had a fully developed brand proposition. Pentagram partner Domenic Lippa led the new identity, with brand strategy by Simple Revolution and a bespoke typeface family, Imperial Sans, by NaN.

The biggest change was the name. The full institutional name stays Imperial College London, but "Imperial" became "the official visual shorthand" in the logo, which Pentagram compared to Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard and Stanford. The wordmark features "a distinctive serifed letter 'I'" that recurs across the identity, in a new colour called Imperial Blue.

The reaction was fierce. Times Higher Education reported a student petition that passed 2,800 signatures within days, citing the logo's "empire connotation" and the loss of "London", and the UCU branch raised concerns about accessibility and cost. Felix later reported the petition had passed 8,000 signatures.

Freedom of information responses showed the brand project cost £434,801.47, covering agencies, the bespoke font, signage and promotional material. Imperial said it had worked with a specialist agency to check the identity's inclusivity and accessibility.