Logos

PSO logo 286 noshadow.pdf

Since its founding, the Policy Studies Organization has had a number of logos. Some were simple variations of the initials, while others were quite complex, involving converging lines and arrows along with rotating globes. The new logo was chosen both for its historical appropriateness and for its ease with which it could be reproduced on publications as well as for its universality.

It is the 47th problem of Euclid, or the Pythagorean theorem, discovered not by Euclid but by Pythagoras. The problem states that in right angled triangles the square on the side subtending the right angle is equal to the squares on the sides containing the right angle. The theorem has been used for centuries by astronomers, philosophers, engineers and builders. Policy studies is about problem solving, so it seemed appropriate to adopt as our symbol one of the oldest successfully solved problems, a symbol of international currency that various disciplines have found useful.

PSO’s own imprint, Westphalia Press, is portrayed by the traditional symbol of Westphalia of a white horse on a red field (the Westfalenpferd or Sachsenross), which represents the Saxons. This image has been used in the coats of arms of Prussian Westphalia and the modern state of North Rhine-Westphalia1:

westphaliashieldwithbackgorund

In addition, the PSO uses the following logos for its various conferences: