How Generation Z perceives Finnish university logomarks
Lahtinen, Roope (2025)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202505048906
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202505048906
Tiivistelmä
In Finland, education is compulsory up to a certain level, after which individuals can apply for higher education, consisting of universities and universities of applied sciences. There are 13 universities in Finland, 12 of which were included in this study. Generation Z currently represents the largest group of university applicants and is expected to remain so in the coming years. In this study, Generation Z refers to individuals born between 1995 and 2010.
The objective of the thesis was to explore how Generation Z perceives Finnish university logomarks. The data was collected through a Microsoft Forms survey over 14 days, resulting in 220 responses. In the survey, respondents were asked to evaluate the logomarks based on perceived attractiveness, willingness to be associated with the logomark, and to select adjectives they felt best described each logomark. They were also asked if they could recognize which university the logomark belonged to. The data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel, as the survey platform Microsoft exported the results in that format. Before analysis, the data was cleaned, especially for the open-ended question responses. The results were then visualized with various graphs and tables.
Key findings of the study included that the University of Turku’s logomark was perceived as the most attractive and the most positive to be associated with, while Åbo Akademi University’s logomark was rated the least attractive and least desirable for association. When describing logomarks with adjectives, innovative, prestigious, courageous, open-minded, and responsible were listed as response options, which may explain their frequent selection. Tampere University and Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology were described as the most innovative. The University of Turku was seen as the most prestigious, the University of Helsinki the most courageous, the University of Vaasa the most open-minded, and the University of Eastern Finland the most responsible. However, responsible showed less variation in response amounts between schools. Tampere University was identified most frequently, suggesting that the survey may have been distributed more widely in the Tampere region. Hanken School of Economics was identified the fewest times.
The objective of the thesis was to explore how Generation Z perceives Finnish university logomarks. The data was collected through a Microsoft Forms survey over 14 days, resulting in 220 responses. In the survey, respondents were asked to evaluate the logomarks based on perceived attractiveness, willingness to be associated with the logomark, and to select adjectives they felt best described each logomark. They were also asked if they could recognize which university the logomark belonged to. The data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel, as the survey platform Microsoft exported the results in that format. Before analysis, the data was cleaned, especially for the open-ended question responses. The results were then visualized with various graphs and tables.
Key findings of the study included that the University of Turku’s logomark was perceived as the most attractive and the most positive to be associated with, while Åbo Akademi University’s logomark was rated the least attractive and least desirable for association. When describing logomarks with adjectives, innovative, prestigious, courageous, open-minded, and responsible were listed as response options, which may explain their frequent selection. Tampere University and Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology were described as the most innovative. The University of Turku was seen as the most prestigious, the University of Helsinki the most courageous, the University of Vaasa the most open-minded, and the University of Eastern Finland the most responsible. However, responsible showed less variation in response amounts between schools. Tampere University was identified most frequently, suggesting that the survey may have been distributed more widely in the Tampere region. Hanken School of Economics was identified the fewest times.