We’ve got a new look….

Posted on 2 October 2023

The Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York is celebrating its 70th anniversary with a newly designed visual identity and logo.

Logo of the Borthwick Institute for Archives

The identity has been designed by local design agency Lazenby Brown and was co-created with our team here. As part of this work, we all had to work together to try and distil down what we thought the Borthwick meant - here’s what we came up with:

Brand personality mix; Guardian 25%; Magician 10%; Detective 20%; Caregiver 10%; Citizen 10%; Activist 15%; Innovator 10%

So what does it all mean? Firstly, you’ll notice that it features our famous Borthwick pig motif as a nod to our history. Why a pig? The pig is based on an original sketch made by our first Director, Canon John S. Purvis, of one of the decorative roof bosses in the ceiling of our original home, St. Anthony's Hall. In medieval times, St. Anthony came to be seen as a healer of people and animals, and he was particularly associated with pigs. This is, therefore, the 'St. Anthony's pig', and links us back to our foundations in 1953.

The logo also features the letter "B" in a typeface based on a local type design from York printers, DeLittle of York. The firm was one of the last manufacturers of wooden type in Britain, and its work can be found in all sorts of archives from York - from promotional posters to Terry’s chocolate boxes. The B in question is DeLittle’s Richmond Old-Style, which was selected for its links to York; its feeling of generosity, and its unique appearance.

Finally, the logo includes a diamond shape, a heraldic shortcut for the walled crown on the University of York crest. Finally, orange has been ‘our’ colour here at the University for some time, so we wanted to keep it, but you may well see other variations on the logo as and when needed.

We are particularly grateful to Lazenby-Brown for designing such a thoughtful and meaningful logo for us, and we can’t wait to see it out and about at last.