60 years old and looking good

Felix has officially reached retirement age, though there will be no freedom passes or pensions for this cat. Instead, Felix brushes up to celebrate its 60th anniversary in style.

Come the 9th of December, Felix will celebrate its diamond jubilee as the student newspaper of Imperial College. As part of the celebrations, the weekly masthead will feature a newly designed logo whose design is inspired by the very first logo from 1949. The Felix logo has traditionally featured Felix the Cat, the official mascot and creature-sake of the newspaper. In years gone by the cat has adorned the pages of Felix in a variety of incarnations; from sabre-toothed tabby cats to more predatory pumas and tigers. The upcoming academic year will see the feline's original form reinstated on the front pages of the newspaper. Our layout editor and resident graphic designer Carlos Karingal scanned in archived issues from 1949 to adapt the original logo into a cleaner, modernised version. Alongside subtle modifications to the left eye, arm and paws, the cat is now silhouetted and set  against a black ring.

Despite the frequent remodeling over the years, the outgoing iteration has proven to be the most popular with past Editors. The distinctive 'knight' featured a humanised cat holding a shield, sword and cape in full colour. It was soon incorporated into an official crest that was heavily used in editions of Felix throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

Its popularity came to light in 1999, when Editor Dave Roberts made the decision to replace the 'knight' with silhouette of a leaping cat; featureless and barely recognisable as Felix. The following year, all feline connotations were removed wholesale from the paper's artwork. Instead, a pair of scowling human eyes stared at the reader from the masthead.

The cat made its return upon the arrival of Will Dugdale as Editor, albeit in a novel 'sabre-toothed' form. As Dugdale's tenure as Editor came to an end, Dave Roberts resurrected the 'knight' from the dark depths of  the 1990s. Five years on and the knight has since been incorporated into the Felix masthead in two forms: the first with full crest and motto: 'keep the cat free; and the second as a circled, lone silhouette (which was used right up to this past year).

Felix was said to have spawned from Phoenix, the arts magazine at College set up by the now legendary author H.G. Wells. Phoenix had become the central publication on campus, and there was ever-increasing pressure to report news and goings-on in College. Prior to 1949, Phoenix had started to feature current affairs articles amongst the arts and culture submissions. The Phoenix editors subsequently took the decision to create a fortnightly College newspaper, with its name thought to be a pun on its parent publication. The first issue was released on the 9th of December and cost each student only 3 pence. 60 years on, Felix, in his very first form, has returned