London Institute logo

The London Institute’s logo is based on a carving from the Institute’s 18th-century fireplace in its seminar room: a classical lamp with snakes either side. The lamp is in the manner of Robert Adam and resembles a classical urn. Carried by Diogenes during the day in search of an honest man, the lamp has come to symbolize knowledge and learning. Surrounding the lamp is a dark blue annulus which bears the Institute's name in white Palatino: London Institute for Mathematical Sciences.

Inside the annulus is the Institute’s motto, “Truth, Beauty,” in gold ITC Blair. In the penultimate line of his poem "Ode on a Grecian Urn," John Keats writes that "Beauty is truth, truth beauty". These words are a reference to the observation that the universe is described by surprisingly elegant mathematics. One of the mysteries of physics is that mathematical beauty is a curiously effective indicator of physical truth. Researchers at the London Institute seek new insights not just for their utility, but also to enrich the world of ideas, which contains its own internal beauty.