A Comparative Study On The Design Culture Of Chinese And American Top University Logos

University logo is the carrier of school running philosophy,school running characteristic and school spirit.It represents the school image and is a visual symbol with publicity and guidance function.Nowadays,the interaction between universities is increasingly close,the competition is more and more intense,and universities begin to pay attention to the construction of their own image.The university logo is one of the primary ways for people to know the school.More and more universities use the university logo and its derivatives to publicize the school.The role and significance of the university logo is increasingly prominent.Logos are more representative and artistic of most of top schools because of their long history,outstanding academic level and prominent social influence.The author selects logos from the word-class universities announced by China’s Ministry of Education in 2017 and the top 30 universities in the United States by USNEWS 2019.The author uses literature research method to collect pictures and relevant information of the university logo from the university’s official website,and comparative analysis method to compare and analyze the shapes,characters and patterns involved in these schools’logos.Through case analysis method,this article is supposed to find out about differences in culture,school history and aesthetic concepts between China and the US.Chinese people have a preference for circles,which is called"Worshipping Circles".Affected by this kind of faith,Chinese top universities’ logos usually have circular elements.The shield elements in American schools’logos are affected by heraldry system,and the circular shapes are originated from circular seal style in the ancient Greek and Roman.In terms of characters,China’s top schools love to write Chinese school names in calligraphy to show its culture connotation,and English name to reflect its international characteristics.American top schools were deeply affected by Christianity,so Latin elements are taken into consideration regularly in its schools’logos.In terms.of patterns,top Chinese schools often use Chinese traditional cultural patterns to display the cultural connotation.Religion has great influence upon most of the top universities in the United States.Therefore,there are religious elements on some schools’logos.The differences between Chinese and American top universities’ logos in shapes,characters and patterns reflect the differences between Chinese and American culture,school history and aesthetic concepts.School logo is the totem of a university,which expresses the humanistic spirit of a university in a metaphorical way.It can be said that the school emblem is an important embodiment of the spirit of the university and even the national thought.The differences in the design of school logos between Chinese and American universities reflect the fundamental differences between Chinese and western cultures.To study the cultural connotation behind the design of the school logos is of great significance for carrying forward the spirit of the university,highlighting the school-running characteristics and understanding the cultural differences between China and the West.