Viterbo University
Art Direction, Design
Viterbo, a private university in La Crosse, Wisconsin with an annual enrollment of 2,700 students, sought to update their brand to stay competitive against other regional institutions and better communicate the value of a Viterbo education.
Background
Having recently undergone an extensive and expensive rebranding that many felt did not hit the mark, the University was wary of taking further action on the brand. To ensure success, I worked closely with their newly-appointed Vice President of Communications to ensure organizational buy-in among faculty, staff, and students through each step of this sensitive process. Special attention was paid to collaborating directly with Viterbo’s in-house creative team to ensure successful adoption of the evolved brand.
Gaining Buy-in
After hearing the concerns of key figures, I presented convincing rationales for subtle changes that would make a big impact on Viterbo’s brand perception. These design suggestions were presented to a newly-convened branding task force featuring 30 diverse University stakeholders for feedback and approval.
Evolve and Optimize
Subtle but impactful updates to typefaces, colors, and graphic elements create a consistent and distinctive statement, presenting an evolution rather than a “rebrand”.
Building the Visual Brand
A library of assets and design samples was built to demonstrate how the new brand would continue to be implemented across channels.
Finally, a detailed 49-page guide was provided to the University to carry the brand forward. The final product was greeted with unanimous approval among key stakeholders who are highly motivated to put it into action.
