KIT Logo

Karlsruhe Research Center and Karlsruhe University had maintained a close cooperative relationship for decades. The plan to bring together these two institutions emerged in 2006 under the rubric “Vision KIT” in the context of the Excellence Initiative of the German federal and state governments. The main proponents of this merger were Horst Hippler, rector of the university, and Manfred Popp, chairman of the board of the Research Center. On October 13, 2006, these institutional partners were pronounced winners of the Excellence competition on the strength of their merger idea. However, the exact nature of KIT still had to be negotiated. The federal government, the main sponsor of the Research Center, and the state government, sponsor of the university, still needed to be convinced of the benefits of a full merger. An important milestone was the founding agreement signed on December 13, 2007, an internal accord between the Research Center and the university. With the approval of their respective sponsors, both partners were able to become committed to the goal of a complete merger. The official establishment of KIT followed on October 1, 2009, after the legal framework had been set down in the KIT Act issued by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The newly formed institution needed a fresh identifying image. A logo was designed making visual reference to the fan-shaped layout of the city of Karlsruhe. The green used in the logo’s form is exactly in-between the two shades of green previously employed in the logos of Karlsruhe Research Center and Karlsruhe University. This color choice symbolized a partnership of equality, intended to assuage concerns by both parties about any loss of influence to the other half. as