Department of Ultimology

Ultimology is the study of that which is dead or dying in a series or process. When applied to academic disciplines, it becomes the study of extinct or endangered subjects, theories and tools of learning. The first Department of Ultimology was established by Fiona Hallinan and Kate Strain in January 2016, at Trinity College Dublin. Operating from its headquarters at CONNECT, located in Dunlop Oriel House, the department is currently conducting qualitative research into endangered subjects within academic disciplines across the university, as a way to explore the evolution and disappearance of forms of knowledge that in turn shape academia and the educational context. 

I worked with Fiona and Kate to create an identity for the Department of Ultimology that reflected its core areas of research and its academic setting in historic Trinity College Dublin. The identity centres around a logo mark that plays on the shorthand symbol for “finish”. It was a self-referential gesture; the logo itself is based on a largely dying tradition. 

The First International Conference of Ultimology took place on Thursday 14th April 2016 at Trinity Long Room Hub, Trinity College Dublin. I designed a programme, lanyards and other printed ephemera for the event.