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The Office of Community-Engaged Leadership (CEL) at Appalachian State University is on a mission to cultivate well-rounded and responsible leaders among its student body. In order to do this, CEL needed a strong branding identity to make its presence known and reliable. To establish an approachable brand identity, a comprehensive brand system for CEL was developed.
BRANDING
2022
This branding kit not only aims to create credibility for a relatively new space on campus but also fosters a sense of inclusivity and accessibility. This was done through many explorations in a logo for CEL that ranged from abstract to symbolic.
CEL’s logo was quite difficult to nail down and required many revisions. This was partially in part to how large the organization is, and the need for CEL to distance itself from hundreds of other on-campus organizations. While developing the identity, the scope had been narrowed to a geometric, shape-based logo. The opportunity of the hexagon shape came to symbolize the interconnectivity of the organization and the importance of everyone involved; sort of like a hive of bees.
It was also very important to CEL that the brand also had great flexibility with its own touches of uniqueness that differ from other on-campus organizations. For example, an expansive color palette was created for both digital and printed platforms, multiple use cases for a collection of logos that are able to fit in any situation, and three logos were created for primary, secondary, and tertiary use cases.
This brand, although extremely structured, gives CEL a lot of room for creative additions. This also became crucial the more promotional materials became necessary. Due to CEL’s high volume of programs, CEL produces a lot of digital and print promotional content for programming, advertising, and marketing. With a cohesive yet broad approach to CEL’s identity, the shapes, colors, illustrations, and formats were the main focal points of the establishment.
Due to CEL’s high volume of programs, CEL produces a lot of digital and print promotional content for programming, advertisement, and marketing which we discussed while creating the branding. Over time, CEL began to need designs for promotional materials such as pens, stickers, bags, hats, and shirts.
Despite the challenges of building a new brand entirely from scratch, CEL’s branding identity was a fantastic success with much support from both the insiders of the CEL organization and on campus as a trustworthy and reliable campus resource.