UK Universities' Corporate Visual Identities
- Emmanuel Mogaji
Abstract
Universities are under intense pressure to set themselves apart from
others, they are rebranding and creating new corporate visual
identities, even though not all of them have been all that successful.
For those who have successfully rebranded, they provide guidelines which
give a broad overview of the brand and their various identities. These
brand guidelines sometimes called brand style guide, or visual identity
guide were thematically analysed to provide a different perspective to
HEI branding - not from students or other stakeholders perspective but
how the Universities sees their brand and wants it conveyed. Analysis
indicated that Universities were rebranding to refresh their brand and
be more appealing, they want to remain dynamic, contemporary, and
relevant while some rebranded when they were awarded the awarded
University status. Logo, colours, typeface and photography were
identified as components of CVI, a distinct typology of logo and
typeface were presented. Universities are using these graphics elements
to communicate their brands and project a cohesive and harmonious look
across all relevant media. Managerial implications with regards bespoke
brand identities and ideas for further research were presented.