Independent Minds. Collective Spirit.
University of York
Purpose
- Transforming organisations
- Building brands
What we did
- Brand strategy
- Visual identity
- Verbal identity
- Campaign
Collaborators
- Typeface: Colophon Foundry
Distinctiveness is a brand’s trump card. And that’s never truer than for universities, where tens of thousands around the world vie for the attention of an increasingly borderless student. Standing out is not easy. The University of York understood this challenge. In 2019, the new Vice-Chancellor set out his stall to create a more distinctive university with social purpose at its heart. We were approached to marble this new vision, a University for Public Good, into York’s brand and culture. And to inspire its multitude of audiences to join in this common mission.
Making 'Public Good' compelling, relevant and distinctive.
York is a compilation of distinct voices – 4,000 staff and 20,000 students. To understand what makes York tick, and different, we listened loud and wide. Over several months of workshops, interviews, discussions and surveys, three themes surfaced. One, that York has courage and mettle. Two, that York is a place of contrasts; equal parts individuality and collectiveness. And three, that people didn’t know what being ‘for Public Good’ meant for them in practice.
We built York’s brand on two foundations: an attitude and an idea. An attitude of being brave at every turn – something distinctly York and that sets them apart. We took this attitude into every brand decision. We chose plurality over one colour, specificity over indefiniteness, our own words over platitudes. The brand idea, ‘Independent minds. Collective spirit.’, exposed York’s me/we dichotomy. It’s a celebration of diversity and freedom, and of coalescence and collaboration. This idea became the design system, defining what could be flexed (the Independent Minds Layer) and what must be fixed (the Collective Spirit Layer), creating a joined-up brand architecture framework that is a symphony of self-expression and harmony. To make ‘Public Good’ mean more to people, we gave it life and directness across a multi-media campaign.
A reinvigoration of the power of brand.
In academic circles, brand is a dirty word. But the new University brand was embraced by the same people that were most sceptical. By gathering so many voices, people saw the brand as a direct manifestation of York, and of themselves. The brand influence has been deep reaching. It informs how York recruits, how it communicates, how it comes together. Where the old brand was a soup of logos, the new brand creates cohesion, order and impact. Most importantly, it positions York distinctly in people’s minds and helps them stand and cut through the multitude.
