Its All In A Name For Rebranded University
Thursday, August 4, 2005 It is known as University College Dublin, National University of Ireland, Dublin and Belfield, but from here on it will simply be called UCD. The country's largest university has rebranded itself as part of a strategic planning process to position it as one of Europe's top 30. The move means the end of up to 60 confusingly different logos used at the college and the UCD prefix will appear before all academic and research unit names.
Reflecting its new confidence, the university will sport a refashioned crest after market research among students, staff, graduates and opinion leaders found there was low association between the existing crest from the 1940s and the university's name.
The new image retains the harp and the three castles representing the capital, and introduces the words 'UCD Dublin' to reinforce its sense of place. However, gone from the crest are the Irish and Latin mottos and shamrock, which it was felt made for too cluttered an image.
Katherine Donnelly, Irish Independent, 4 August 2005