Located in one of the most multicultural parts of the world, the University of East London boasts 18,000+ students from 134 different nationalities. In 2019 UEL appointed a new Vice-Chancellor and President, Prof. Amanda J. Broderick. Prof. Broderick came to the university with an ambitious ten-year vision: to reposition UEL as the number one careers-led university.
With the university landscape growing more competitive each year and the UEL brand suffering from a legacy of low entry requirements, it was clear UEL needed help to strengthen their proposition and launch their new vision. They needed a partner who could visually communicate their distinctive value to all stakeholders in a bold, creative way and cut through the market clutter. After participating in a competitive pitch process with five other studios, we were chosen to help them do just this!
PLOTT very much acted as a partner on the development of the corporate logo. They understood the need to strike a balance between reflecting our forward-thinking Vision and our institutional heritage and produced something that was overwhelmingly well-received by all stakeholder groups. From here they came up with the #BeTheNext concept which aligns perfectly with the institutional Vision and provided guidance to our in-house team to support the campaign execution.
It was an honour to research UEL’s rich history and a great opportunity to link the old with the new. Against the backdrop of huge plans to regenerate East London, we got to work, crafting a new identity to help realise their vision and establish an instantly recognisable, global brand.
We discovered their brand identity had been through a couple of changes already. Originally, it was a heraldic shield which had been modernised into an abstract shape, colloquially known as ‘the plectrum’. Students come to London from all over the world for its fame and history; an intoxicating mix of old and new. We wanted to reflect this for UEL so we created a modern logo which showcased the history (which dates back to 1898) and we re-introduced the phoenix from the old heraldry.
We are very proud of the end result which really tells their story, from the days of the industrial revolution, to today’s industry 4.0. And equally proud of the student recruitment campaign which we developed alongside the branding. The campaign focused on successful UEL alumni and their stories. #BeTheNext was such a success it has been extended into the 2021 campaign.
