New logo: Royal Academy of Engineering

The Royal Academy of Engineering is what is says, the national academy for engineering in the United Kingdom. Last year they introduced a new visual identity, created by the creative agency Firedog.

The agency looked at the old symbol and tried to making it stronger and look less like an elastic strip. Both the symbol and the type has been made more vivid and robust. The symbol is flexible and comes in a few different colour variations. Firedog also created a "flexible dimensional thread device" inspired by the symbol that can be used as a supportive graphic device. They also developed a supporting visual language.

Previous logo.

"The aim of this project was to update and refresh the logo design and visual identity to ensure that it is in-line with the academy’s evolving strategy and vision – ‘making engineering the heart of society.’ The brand identity needed to convey an impactful and coherent message, whilst still being adaptable enough to resonate with a diverse audience, whose members engage with the academy for different reasons.

We conducted an exciting research phase, whereby fellows of the Academy applied minds in an exercise to define the core DNA of the brand. We explored the Academy’s role in society and it became increasingly apparent that the “Heart of Society” positioning was very authentic and appropriate. The research also informed the creative process, exposing the current identity as rigid, restricting and not very imaginative.

We refreshed the RAeng symbol, literally turning it on its head. We liked the idea that it was conceived around a flint axe, yet its orientation made it look more like a gas flame. We found the downward facing position more aggressive and dynamic, and closer to how a hand axe would be held. We combined this with strong typography which portrayed a more dominant entity. We followed through with a thread based visual identity device, which worked with the icon. All the creative work is wrapped up in a substantial guideline kit which allows in-house teams to apply the look and feel across the Academy’s full marketing remit." - Firedog

Firedog case study
Firedog