UIC's new look, designed by School of Design faculty and students, is launched

UIC's new identity was developed in a classroom of senior graphic design students, part of a yearlong professional practice course, Design 440: Design Thinking and Leadership, led by UIC Design faculty members Cheryl Towler Weese and Meghan Ferrill. This course was initiated in the 1980s by design legend, and UIC Design Emertitis Professor, John Massey, and it continues to engage students in the designer-client relationship through participation in real world communication design challenges.

Students began working on the identity system in the fall of 2013, touring campus, researching its history and accomplishments, and interviewing key stakeholders — administrators, faculty, staff, students, alumni and community members. They presented their findings in a 35-page report to the Integrated Marketing and Strategic Communications Advisory Council, then began redesigning the campus logo.

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, indeed, 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.

From the UIC Identity Guidelines: On Identity

Inherent in the notion of identity is identification. The university is not in itself a brand or a personality. Rather it is an expression of values and ideals that reflect the institution’s raison d’être, and that, in turn, reflect the values and ideals of those who choose to identify themselves with it and who therefore embody, enrich and extend all that the university stands andstrives for – students, faculty, scholars, researchers, clinicians, health scientists, providers, patients, administrators, alumni, donors, Chicagoans.