After much back and forth on the redesign of its logo, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) on Thursday launched a new, ‘bold and clear’ logo of the institute. “We have refreshed the logo, we have taken forward its legacy, we have kept it very strongly in the tradition and we using it as a way to represent the identity of the institute in an increasingly international world,” said Errol D’Souza, Director, IIMA.

Hyokjin Kwak, Professor of marketing and head of the Website Task Force, stated that the old logo had three components, “tree of life which indicated our legacy, the Sanskrit inscription that indicates leadership and the name of the institute which is our identity. We have retained all three aspects and made the logo simple, bold, and global.”

Notably, the logo redesign had faced strong objections from a section of alumni and faculty members of the institute. However, this time, D’Souza stated that the consultations were held and the feedback was taken. “All feedback was considered and the institute in line with its growth plans decided to go ahead with the redesign,” D’Souza told bloncampus.

The institute also launched a redesigned website that has a clean and bold user interface highlighting the most important aspects of the institute. “The previous design was text-heavy. We want to use the website as a communication tool that talks about the achievements of the institute and allows to interact with a global audience as well as prospective students. For a student normally the first port of entry into an institution is through the digital medium. So it is very important tool for us,” said D’Souza.

Safety risks

In another major decision of the Board of Governors, the institute has planned to reconstruct of some of the buildings in the old campus instead of restoration. “Over time some of the buildings have been facing structural damage, and deterioration and have become inhabitable. This has posed a serious safety risk for the residents of the campus,” the director informed adding that the group of structural and earthquake engineers from IIT Roorkee and an international group comprising restoration experts, architects, and structural engineers raised concerns on the restoration of the blocks.

The institute has therefore, decided not to continue with any further restoration of the faculty blocks, classroom complex and dorms other than D-15. There will be a reconstruction of the faculty blocks, classroom complex, and peripheral dorms 16 to 18 with same exterior facade, a seismically safe structure, and non-major renovation of the internal space to improve its functionality to suit the needs of the users.

The other dorms will be remodelled in line with Lois Kahn heritage and keeping in mind the functional needs of current and future residents of the campus. Earlier in January 2021, a section of alumni had resisted the idea of demolition of dormatories, after which the board decided to give it a rethink. But over the last two decades, the institute has conducted regular inspections, studies, and repairs on the buildings. Repairs were made whenever subject matter experts recommended it or there was any visible indication of a problem.

‘Unavoidable’

In a statement, the IIMA Board of Governors, said, “The safety of our people is our primary responsibility, and with that in mind, the Board felt there was a need to address this issue rather than opt for temporary solutions such as restorations, which had been attempted but were not as effective. The Board had consulted industry experts and discussed the issue for several months before making this decision regarding the reconstruction of parts of the old campus.”

It also stated that “All reports indicate that most structural elements have insignificant residual life, and thus restoration will be technically impractical and ineffective despite investment of time, effort, and funds. As a result, rebuilding such sections of the old campus is unavoidable. We express our deep gratitude for the wisdom and advice provided by our various stakeholders and experts throughout the process.”