Freie Universität wanted to clearly define its image. For this reason, we asked students, employees, and the citizens of Berlin how they perceive the university and what they expect of it in the future. We used their answers to develop a new design concept that translates the values of Freie Universität and of “freedom” into visual terms.
When developing our new image, we were guided by the following principles:
- We are rooted in an international academic landscape.
- Our visual communication should highlight the uniqueness of our university.
- Our visual appearance should be modern and classy.
- Using digital media should be a clear focus.
Our new logo aims to visually express the freedom and new areas of opportunity that are continually opening up in a university context. This means that our logo is constantly changing – just like the world around us.
However, the logo does retain some familiar elements, for example, the color green. The foreground of the new logo depicts the letters “F” and “U,” reduced to individual fragments. These are complemented by a sequence of additional shapes and negative space, randomly generated by an algorithm to create a new combination every time. The resulting logo is eye-catching, yet versatile. The accompanying text, “Freie Universität Berlin,” is written in an open-source font, further integrating the theme of freedom into the logo.
The aim of this new visual appearance is to visually represent the university’s open mindedness, our willingness to test boundaries, and our tireless search for answers to the important questions of our time. Our new image makes it clearer than ever before: Here at Freie Universität, we learn, teach, and research in the name of freedom.
The new visual appearance is being rolled out in 2024 and gradually being made available to all the members of the university. It is mandatory for all official communication channels of Freie Universität Berlin.