In 1923 Loughnan Pendred, one of the founder members and second President of the Society, introduced the idea of an emblem. It was decided to use the heraldic design of a griffin, signifying vigilance, a necessary attribute of the engineer. The griffin is represented as looking backwards although moving forward, signifying the historical interests of the society.
The original design, by Alec Buckles of the Royal College of Art, took the form of a woodcut measuring approximately 2 inches by 3 inches. The design was first used in Transactions in 1923.
In 2010 this design was re-interpreted by Tim Wilkinson of TSWDesign.co.uk. At the same time the latin motto 'Actorum memores simul affectamus agenda', which, simply translated, means 'We look back but go forward", has been replaced by 'Learning from the past to inform the future'.