Launching knowledge

An identity designed to bring people together

In 2022, Université fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées commissioned us to create the visual identity of the future “Université de Toulouse” Comue. At the time, the challenge was significant: to unite 31 higher education and research institutions around a shared brand, without erasing the individuality or autonomy of each one.

But in 2024, a new institutional trajectory reshaped the project. A new experimental public institution was formed around the former Université Toulouse III – Paul Sabatier and, since 2025, it is this institution that has carried the name Université de Toulouse.

Originally conceived as a unifying brand for an ecosystem of institutions, the identity therefore changed status: it became the identity of a university in its own right. A shift in scale that led us to evolve the graphic system, while preserving the original symbol.

With this new incarnation came colour. And in Toulouse, it felt almost inevitable. Toulouse is known as the Pink City. Its traditional bricks, shifting from orange to pink to brown depending on the light and the time of day, have shaped the city’s landscape and imagination for centuries. The palette was almost self-evident.

Burnt orange, pale pink, deep brown: this new colour range anchors the University more strongly in its territory, while moving away from the institutional blues traditionally associated with the academic world. A warmer, more distinctive and more embodied identity, in the image of Toulouse itself.

Signe

The University of Toulouse logo combines graphic simplicity with symbolic strength. It brings together a robust, grounded U, representing the University as a foundation for knowledge; a place of learning, reflection and openness ; and a more slender T, rising upwards as if propelled into the air. A natural reference to the strong connection between Toulouse and the aerospace industry. This T represents the university community.

Emerging from the University as its foundation, the community gains momentum, driven by knowledge, research, education and collective energy. The upward movement of the T expresses a shared ambition: academic excellence, environmental responsibility, international reach, openness and the visibility of public service.

This small T also borrows from the language of science. Positioned like a mathematical exponent, it becomes a multiplying factor for knowledge. Its structure, defined by a horizontal division, also allows the monogram to sit precisely at the junction between two graphic areas. This modular quality becomes a valuable tool for composing both pages and screens.

Through its refined and minimalist design, the logo is intended to be timeless, reflecting the University’s commitment to a sustainable world and its attention to the major societal challenges of our time.