Developing a new graphic identity for a university is one of the hardest jobs in graphic design – a successful rebrand must communicate a long past of preparing students for the future.  Even if the rebranding manages to be forward thinking, but not trendy AND traditional, but not old fashioned, the design team will probably still receive animosity from a faculty, student body, and alumni with a lot invested in the old version.

A few recent college rebrandings, notably a Aalto University and Linnaeus University (see the writeups in Brand New here and here) have adopted modern and even experimental brand identities.  Similarly, MIT’s (somewhat) recent new brand identity is a huge change from its previous school seal and interim MIT wordform.  MIT’s branding guidelines webpage has a fascinating glimpse into the research and design process as well as the rationale behind the new graphic identity.

Why are schools moving past education branding cliches and toward radicial new solutions. In this increasingly competitive academic environment, colleges must be innovative to stand out at all.  Students are looking for an education that looks toward the future and can communicate with them in the mediums they understand and are looking to use.  Universities are just beginning to understand and effectively use online branding to increase visibility. And as universities better learn to find their audience online, we’ll be watching with great interest.