Spencer du Bois refreshes Aston

Birmingham’s Aston University is to raise its profile in the higher education sector, with a new look and style by branding group Spencer du Bois.

The consultancy was appointed to the project in July, having worked with Aston’s vice chancellor, Professor Julia King, on the rebranding of The Royal Academy of Engineering.

King was appointed vice chancellor of the university last year, and has since set out plans to bolster its standing in the higher education sector, of which the brand refresh is a major part.

Spencer du Bois managing director John Spencer explains that the old logo, originally created in 1990 by Wolff Olins, lacked confidence and needed to be updated to reflect the university’s dynamic culture.

‘The idea was to give the identity more visual impact, and help strengthen the university’s standing in commercial and research areas. We also needed to unify a range of sub-brands that had grown out of the four schools and various faculties,’ says Spencer.

‘We presented a lot of concepts, but the idea to evolve Aston’s much-loved triangle device [which echoes its triangle campus] was always going to be a key part of the identity. We’ve made it more dynamic and given it confidence,’ he adds.

Senior pro-vice chancellor and Professor of marketing at Aston University Graham Hooley says, ‘It is difficult to overstate the importance of branding to this university. In a competitive higher education sector, a brand is absolutely integral to an institution’s success.’

Aston University’s new brand will be implemented across touchpoints including the website, which is under development, literature, stationery, annual reports and signage.