- Agency: The Click
- Client: Imperial College London
- Category: Print Design — Education
- Location: Norwich, United Kingdom
- Project Brief: Create a scalable print identity system that unifies multiple academic departments while allowing individual faculty expression across Imperial College London.
Education print design works best when it holds a university together without making every department look the same. The Click solved that problem for Imperial College London by building the "Creative I," a flexible brand architecture designed to scale across more than 20 departments without flattening what makes each one distinct.
As DesignRush juror Brett Jefferson put it, the work is "a deeply considered identity that turns a brand-architecture challenge into a strikingly strong, future-forward concept."
The system stays human by routing complex scientific and research fields through visual metaphors people can actually connect with. A bold, varied palette pairs with unique "I" icons for faculties ranging from Aeronautics to Mathematics, giving the university a modern identity without flattening what makes each department distinct.
The "I" motifs are executed with relevance and flair, anchoring each faculty's individual expression to a shared visual language.
"Strong design!"
— Lucia Barbaresso, Design Awards Jury
Each departmental presentation turns a massive internal architecture into something recognizable and clear. The system extends across merchandise, image framing, and digital applications, so departmental individuality adds to the wider university brand rather than pulling against it. Each "I" carries effortlessly across merchandise and screen, building a singular aesthetic that feels at home in modern art and education alike.
"Visually stunning application across mediums and intent."
— Andrea Owsinek-Brucker, Design Awards Jury
What makes the framework durable is how easily it accommodates growth. A new department simply earns a new "I," and the system expands without ever needing a redesign. That's brand architecture thinking built for the long haul. The vibrant palette adds another layer of intent, carrying a youthful exuberance designed to inspire its student audience to learn, aspire, and create.
The agency merged strategic positioning with flexible creativity to produce a framework Imperial can expand over time. Sub-branding stops being a logistical headache and starts functioning as a storytelling tool — one that modernizes the university's global presence without locking it into a design that will age out.
