The leaders of the prestigious EMScom programme at the Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI) had forged a unique position in the world of executive education. In a market of widely available and varying quality EMBA courses, they were becoming the most rounded and respected course aimed at communication specialists.
Faced with ambitious new growth objectives, and with a need to reach an increasingly global and adroit audience, Moving Brands were engaged to define a vision to align the stakeholders, and realize this in a brave new identity to raise their profile and credibility among global C-level communications professionals.
System
At the heart of the identity system is a flexible and scalable set of assets, a living identity which is a brave and highly differentiated approach within USI’s competitor set. It allows for the creation of communications that range from restrained and functional to expressive and abstract.
The Brand Narrative of ‘Change your perspective’ underpinned the movement of the dynamic logo: Each line is constantly acting and reacting on its axis, representing the paradigm shift the students experience. The logo also references the natural phenomenon of collective intelligence — where groups act in unison with intelligence greater than that of the individual. In digital applications the logo gradually shifts, and there is a selection of ‘snapshots’ of the mark for use in print applications.
We built a Processing tool to craft this dynamic logo, to help us understand how the pattern looks in motion, and to uncover the strongest, most interesting patterns.
The identity connotes a technical quality, which refers to the aim of the course to become ‘more of a science than an art’. The font Gravur Condensed was chosen for it’s precise appearance whilst retaining a human feel.
The colour palette was fastidiously shaped. It is designed to complement the existing USI brand whilst projecting the pioneering approach of the programme. The final palette, includes fluorescents and metallics, strike a balance between modern and timeless.
The textures are drawn from the movement of the logo, and provide a range of expression. This flexibility is further exaggerated by the diverse colour palette, and the system’s inclusion of a black and white photography style.
