In February 2015, the University of Findlay launched a new brand identity after a year-and-a-half of research and creative development. Here is how we did it.
Why did the University re-define its brand?
It had been 25 years since the University took a holistic, strategic look at what messages we communicate to potential students, alumni, donors and the community. A lot changed at UF during this time, while many fundamentals that make up the fabric of our University stayed constant.
The real beginning of UF's efforts to re-define our brand began with the campus-wide strategic planning process that took place in 2012. Through that process, UF's vision statements - The UF Distinctive - and the Big 8 Strategic Goals were adopted by all of campus. These statements define who The University of Findlay is, what our students can expect from the educational experience at UF and what guiding principles we use to move the University forward.
Because of all of this, it was time to talk to our campus community to find out if the graphic identity and brand messages that UF had been using still represented the University well.
What was the process the University followed to redefine its brand?
This initiative was started under the Big 8 goal of "growing targeted enrollment" in Fall 2014. Extensive research was conducted to gather input from faculty, staff, current students, alumni and potential students with the goal to determine:
- Who the University is to them;
- What makes UF special; and
- If our current brand messages and graphic identity accurately communicate all of these attributes to the community outside of campus.
The research was conducted through a series of focus groups, individual meetings and online surveys with all of our audiences. The results of this research was presented to campus in April 2015.
Summary of Research Findings
Overall, the research confirmed what many across campus already believed - that our greatest strength is our people. The quality of relationships our faculty and staff build with our students is our most cited attribute. However, it also found that the strength of our academic offerings was cited to a lesser degree, and far too many describe The University of Findlay as "good" rather than "very good." The latter can be attributed to be a result of messaging that has focused more on the friendly atmosphere and beauty of campus at UF instead of the quality of the holistic academic experience.
The research also determined that overall, our campus community would welcome a new academic logo and graphic identity. Many respondents felt the wordmark logo is plain, uninformative and doesn't do a good job of communicating the quality of the academic experience at UF.
The Final Phase
In Fall of 2015, a series of workshops was conducted with campus stakeholders. Feedback from the workshops was used to develop the new academic logo, graphic identity and brand messaging for the University. After conducting additional focus groups consisting of potential students and alumni, the University was officially unveiled the new academic logo on Wednesday, Feb. 24 during a campus-wide event.
Questions?