The new UIC Identity receives prestigious design award

The new UIC identity program, which began in a UIC Design classroom, has received and award from the University College and Designers Association. 

UIC launched a rebranding initiative to capture the dynamism of its evolving and increasingly recognized campus. The revised identity embraces who the university is becoming; one that harnesses the institution’s intense engagement with the city of Chicago, and supports a voice and set of stories that can project the university to a variety of publics. 

Professors Cheryl Towler Weese and Meghan Ferrill led the year-long DES440 Design Thinking and Leadership course that was charged with the project to develop a new identity for our campus. In the fall of 2013 Senior Graphic Design students began work with the Office of the UIC Office of Public and Government Affairs, and Executive Vice Chancellor, Michael Redding, to conducted interviews with UIC faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Taking their findings students and faculty worked to develop a new program of words and images that represent UIC. 

Chicago is as much a part of UIC as UIC is part of Chicago. In the university’s new logotype and mark, a strong typographic representation emphasizes the fact that UIC is Chicago’s public research university. The vertically oriented logotype reflects the city’s dynamism, skyline and diverse population; emphasizing the transformative quality of a first-rate university education for students and of a top-tier research institution for scholars. The UIC mark references the historical Circle Campus and is closely tied to the university’s previous mark, forming a bridge between old and new. The identity system is designed to be stable, yet flexible and versatile.

The new identity was launched in January 2015. The UCDA Competition is an international awards program awarding the best design work for colleges and universities.