Plymouth College of Art’s “experimental” ad campaign for students

Plymouth College of Art was founded in 1856 as an independent art and design school, offering students undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, pre-degree courses for those aged 17 and 18, short courses and diplomas.

Every year, the college launches a campaign to advertise itself and attract new students to its many disciplines, which span creative subjects from fine art and gaming to graphic design and advertising.

This year’s campaign has been designed by Templo, and is based on the college’s philosophy of creativity being a “continuum”, says Pali Palavathanan, creative director at the studio, with design processes “ever changing” and “often coming full circle”.

To show this cyclical nature, the campaign is based on three-dimensional typographic loops, which are used as a graphic device to wrap around various things.

This includes Plymouth College of Art’s core branding, a series of new campaign photography, and key information. It has also been applied to exteriors, physically wrapping around buildings.

The copy of the campaign also has a cyclical feel to it, says Palavathanan, through sentences such as “Live. Make. Keep creating.”

The wrap-around device is paired with a stark black, white and grey colour palette, photography of current students, tutors and alumni demonstrating the “diversity” within the college, and simple, block-colour backgrounds.

The typographic focus of the #KeepCreating campaign aims to celebrate the “outspoken” nature of Plymouth College of Art in an overt way, says Palavathanan, and also be “experimental” to interest a young audience of 17-18-year-olds.

The campaign is currently rolling out across digital platforms, on advertising posters, across buildings and wayfinding at the college, and on merchandise and printed materials such as wristbands and tote bags.