Dublin City University Brand Refresh (2023)

DCU is a young University that positively transforms lives and societies through cutting-edge learning and strong industry links. The previous DCU brand project had brought consistency to their communications but ultimately restricted creative potential. The University sought an agency to refresh the brand and reflect their forward-thinking personality. 

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 their 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 it easier for people to navigate between different faculties on the website, social media and the prospectus. The flexibility of the system 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. The symbols are arranged in interchangeable combinations which form the backbone of the pattern. Increasing the scale can shake things up and keep things looking different. 

DCU wanted to retain the main logomark so we made 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 brand system gave the internal graphic design and digital communications teams the freedom to be creative within wider parameters. Over the last two years we have worked with DCU on their websites, prospectus and an identity for DCU Sport which will be rolled out in 2024.