The whole operation was supposed to foster a much-needed sense of unity and to stop the uncontrolled proliferation of logos at the State University of Limburg (RL). The fifteen-year-old RL logo was increasingly being pushed aside by people’s own creations. For that very reason, all departments and faculties would be required to use the new visual identity, which came complete with a manual explaining what to do and what not to do. The assumption that everyone would readily follow this manual to the letter was “a gross underestimation of the university community’s anarchist tendencies”, Observant gleefully wrote, inviting readers to send in their own ideas to strengthen the sense of unity and the public image of the university. The response was underwhelming.
A few years later, at the Dies Natalis celebration in January 1999 – three years after the State University of Limburg became Maastricht University – a completely new logo was unveiled: the now familiar pair of vertically aligned blue triangles, slightly offset, containing a U and an M. On the same day, brightly coloured flags with the UM logo flew for the first time outside university buildings, each faculty with its own colour. Design and implementation cost 250,000 guilders. Opinions were divided, ranging from “looks like a set of building blocks; there’s something childish about it” and “the balance is off, it’s about to topple over” to “an excellent logo. Nothing revolutionary, but simple and clear”. Once again, any parts of the university still clinging to their own visual identities were warned that they would be required to use the new house style.
Logo police
Nine years later, in 2008, it happened again. The house style was updated and, you guessed it, no one would be allowed to stray from it. The university’s logo police are always watching. In an effort to emphasise the university’s international ambitions, “Maastricht University” was added beneath the two triangles that form the abbreviation “UM”.
Superior in spending
This combination – Dutch abbreviation, English name – immediately got on the University Council’s nerves. It was inconsistent, they complained. And why hadn’t they been consulted, grumbled a student member. The accompanying slogan “Leading in Learning” (then-UM President Ritzen, a former minister, didn’t seem much concerned with humility) was met with contemptuous snorts. Why just “learning”? What about “research”? The snorting grew louder when UM dropped in the Dutch University Guide rankings, and louder still when signage in Randwyck was updated to match UM House Style 3.0. The letters were far too small (“even young people with good eyesight will need glasses now”, according to a letter sent to Observant), there were typos (“embryology” became “embyology”), and the rumoured price tag of €450,000 (“the equivalent of two Veni grants”) prompted another reader to write in suggesting that “Leading in Learning” be changed to “Superior in Spending”.
Stupidity ranking
The slogan also raised eyebrows outside the university. In 2016, UM appeared in the “Stupidity Ranking” of the Dutch University Reform Platform, founded by academics frustrated with modern university branding campaigns and slick PR machines. UM didn’t make the top three but finished sixth. The top spot went to Groningen’s “Born leaders reach for infinity”.
“Leading in Learning” quietly disappeared from the scene, but the slogans didn’t stop there. In late 2024, UM launched a new one, “Finding real answers together”, part of a campaign aimed at attracting Dutch students. Once again, not everyone was impressed: “All style, no substance”, critics said.