Cabinet Corner is a periodic feature of LMU This Week where the university’s executive leaders share their perspectives with the community. The President’s Cabinet will provide updates on initiatives, policies, events, challenges, and areas of interest.
John S. Kiralla, vice president for marketing and communications, writes:
LMU has changed a lot since I graduated in the 1990s. Back then, Loyola Boulevard was the only entrance, Sunset Concert was held on an empty bluff field near the new Hilton building on the Leavey Campus, the Law School was more of a distant relative than a partner, and we were all digital immigrants coping with the latest updates to Netscape after Al Gore invented the internet. Each year since has brought equal parts transformation and innovation as our ambitions demonstrated our academic excellence, expanded our enrollments and campus footprints, and increased our desire to share the LMU experience with the world.
What hasn’t changed: LMU is still the school I fell in love with 25 years ago because of its extraordinary students, faculty, staff, alumni, and supporters. The ineffable yet undeniable commitment to each other and to our mission – encouraging learning, educating the whole person, serving faith and justice – has always enlivened our campuses. As invested community members, we embrace tough questions: Are we changing in ways supportive of our institutional identity? Are we advancing the values of our founding traditions? Are we honoring our history while addressing the challenges of tomorrow? As a communications professional, I also reflect on how we perceive ourselves, how that resonates or differs from how those outside our community perceive us, and how these perceptions evolve over time. We always figure it out, in our LMU way.
In President Snyder’s 2015 inauguration address, he shared a vision that LMU must forever banish the notion “Best Kept Secret on the Hill.” Since then, I have enjoyed the privilege of leading talented colleagues in a multiyear effort to elevate the university’s reputation and renown. In MarComm, we do that, in part, by developing a branding roadmap, a process that attempts to define the university’s external messaging and image thoughtfully, strategically, and, most importantly, with authenticity. Though we use terms like “brand,” we have taken great care to humanize our process by placing the community at the center of our work. We attempt to de-jargonize terminology by defining our brand as “what we stand for in the hearts and minds of the persons we are trying to reach, influence, and move to action.” After the most extensive perceptions study in LMU’s history, reaching over 75,000 persons, I believe that our brand platform supports our university mission and provides a blueprint for positioning LMU effectively. We summarize our work with the mantra: “Creating the World We Want to Live In.” Through this labor of love, I most enjoyed your engagement — your insights, your critiques, your support, and your wisdom. Your guidance is how we learn, how we refine, how we evolve.
But, how do we visually distill what we have learned into a logo? How do we design a logo that addresses our needs and engenders pride and unity? Logos are a singular challenge! While we may not all agree on design specifics, we can be proud of the process that led to today’s visual identity introduction. Unlike most other universities and LMU’s 2003 introduction of “LMU|LA,” our new visual identity was open to community feedback. Nearly 2,000 of you participated and we read and considered every response. We made changes. We did not and could not have addressed every suggestion.
On Dec. 13, 2018, after thoroughly considering community feedback, and after several leadership reviews, the President’s Cabinet approved the new system. We spent the last three months preparing it for you.
Today, we roll out LMU’s new visual identity. You will begin seeing it in prominent locations, such as on LMU.edu, on signage, in social media, and at major university events, including Preview Day and Commencement. The full conversion to our new visual identity will be gradual, with the transition order based on priorities recommended by the Visual Identity Implementation Committee.
What does this mean for you? Please begin using the new logos in your daily work. The files are ready for you to download with standards to guide you.
As we take this critical step together, I share insights I have gained while working together to build our brand and visual identity.
- We are one LMU. While our disciplines and contributions are unique, reflecting our diversity, our logo is an outward display of unity, not an opportunity for individual distinctiveness. The key to its success is uniform adoption. We are competing for attention with thousands of other organizations in a world dominated by visual messaging. When we communicate consistently, we encourage resonant associations, and we elevate each other.
- The new system is more comprehensive than any other system in LMU’s history, and we believe it sets a high standard in higher education. It integrates LMU’s academic programs, Athletics, and Loyola Law School into one shared visual identity, eliminating the need for specialized identities, sub-brand marks or logos. We will sunset old logos and specialized identities as soon as possible.
- LMU MarComm seeks to continue approaching this process thoughtfully and collaboratively. As we administer the visual identity system, we welcome dialogue and your requests. Our MarComm professionals are ready to assist you.
As we communicate our accomplishments with pride, our consistent visual identity will do its part to elevate our reputation and renown. Soon, we will see our esteemed faculty experts sharing their scholarship, creative works, research, or commentary on television against a background emblazoned with our new logo. Soon, we will watch our athletics teams compete on courts and fields sporting our new marks along with new uniforms. Soon, we will see our name and image locally, nationally, and globally as we activate our brand and get off the bluff with impact.
I end where I began: I am here because of the extraordinary persons who make LMU, LMU. Our logos gain meaning when we invest in them together. Our marketing and branding plans are only effective if they represent accurately the mission, goals, and aspirations of LMU. The next steps are not easy: new visual identities require significant change, asking us to put aside our personal design preferences for the good of the institution. When we are successful, our neighbors across the street and across the globe will understand LMU’s promise and transformational potential in the same way as every LMU community member.
As our mission guides and strengthens us, I am invigorated by a visual identity that will position us boldly and creatively. Please join me as we take the next steps together. I thank you for your continued support.
For more information, please visit http://brand.lmu.edu or contact us at visualidentity@lmu.edu.
