It’s Nice That devises ‘stamp of approval’ for University of the Arts London graduate market

It’s Nice That has created the identity for University of the Arts London’s graduate market, Artsmart, which the university says is the first-ever alumni art and design market in the UK.

The two-day event will be held on 1-2 July at Chelsea College of Art and Design and is open to all UAL alumni across the institute’s six colleges. UAL says all stallholders will be invited to take part in an entrepreneurial training programme to prepare for the event and also to help their long-term professional development.

UAL engaged It’s Nice That, which is formally launching a design studio later this year, to create the branding for the event. The consultancy was appointed directly, without a pitch.

A UAL spokeswoman says, ’We chose them as we are fans of their work and their ethos and felt that they were a nice fit with our target audience – namely alumni and the arts-engaged public.’

It’s Nice That creative director James Gilpin says the consultancy began work on the project about two months ago.

He says it had to consider how any identity would sit alongside existing branding, including that of the university itself. He says, ’We wanted to use the rhetoric of nostalgia, but also wanted it to be a contemporary marque.’

Gilpin says It’s Nice That developed a bespoke typeface to use for the identity. He describes the brand as operating ’like a stamp of approval’.

He adds, ’We felt that a simple logotype can sit alongside graduate work without taking away from the graduates’ identity and can therefore represent a platform for emerging talent.’

The identity will be used online on a website designed by It’s Nice That and in a print directory, also designed by the consultancy.

The identity will also be used on collateral such as bags and packaging at the event. Gilpin describes the branding as having ’a very physical application’.

The deadline for applications to take part in the market is 25 March and UAL says it is aiming to host more than 100 stalls to showcase art, design, craft and fashion.

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