Positive Transformation
| Client | Dublin City University |
| Sector | Education |
| Service | Brand Design, Brand Strategy, Art Direction, Design, Project Management, Web Design, Digital Design, Motion Graphics |
DCU is a young university that positively transforms lives and societies through cutting-edge learning and strong industry links.
DCU’s internal design team needs to deliver daily communications to varied audiences, across multiple departments and faculties. This requires a well-considered brand system that gives the design team the freedom to create fresh outputs day in and day out. We proposed using colour and symbols to uniquely represent each faculty, giving the DCU designers endless combinations to play with.
We developed a suite of symbols through collaborative workshops with each faculty and department. These symbols and the accompanying colour palette make navigating between different faculties on the website, social media, and the prospectus easier. The system’s flexibility allows the University to alter the tone of their communications to suit specific audiences, and flexes with the University as it adapts to new opportunities and media.
DCU wanted to retain the main logomark, so we made some subtle adjustments to optimise the balance, improving its positioning when viewed alongside other university logos. We also kept their typeface but expanded it to include a serif, providing opportunities to broaden the tone of their communications.
The symbols are arranged in interchangeable combinations forming the backbone of the pattern. Increasing the scale can shake things up and keep things looking different.
The online brand guidelines are a game changer, always online and easy to update, they build brand awareness and simplify the distribution of assets. The brand has been effectively deployed across print and digital and will continue to evolve online and on campus.
The rebrand positions DCU as a world-class, forward-thinking, and energetic University focused on positive transformation. The brand system allowed the internal graphic design and digital communications teams the freedom to be creative within wider parameters.
DCU Design Team
