The world’s largest university publishing house Oxford University Press has updated a logo. According to the publisher, the new visual identity is intended to reflect its ongoing transformation to a digital-first business orienting more towards modern technologies.
The Oxford University’s printing division officially began to print books in 1586, obtaining some royal assent. Now, OUP with near 6000 employees in 50 countries publishes academic books, scientific works and manuals in more than 40 languages.
While the university press hadn’t changed its logo representing a serif wordmark for 40 years, the present day’s issues, including the coronavirus pandemic, accelerated the digital development of OUP which, in turn, required a proper visual expression.
According to the publisher’s chief executive Nigel Portwood, OUP has been on the journey to the digital transformation for many years, and the new branding corresponds with the press’ activities in the digital environment and marks the way it revises its role and aspiration to develop in the future to meet the changing needs of customers and communities.
So, OUP’s new logo features a geometric two-line sans-serif wordmark as well as a stylized “O” symbol that seems to be made up by pages of an open book. In general, it looks sufficiently modern, offering simple yet original design, and confirming the idea that a sans-serif is a new classics.