University College London: advert-top-1 by Lambie Nairn

International branding agency Lambie-Nairn has unveiled a new brand identity for UCL’s (University College London) new global Philanthropy and Engagement Campaign.

The agency was tasked with creating a brand identity which captured the uniqueness of UCL, its strong personality and the big story behind the campaign. The brand also needed to reflect the university’s belief in pushing boundaries, which is based on its experience of delivering innovative solutions by doing things differently.

The resulting campaign is built around the idea ‘It’s All Academic’, enabling UCL to take a well-known phrase and turn the meaning on its head to declare that being academic is no longer seen as delivering less.

Lambie-Nairn has created a deliberately disruptive look and feel for ‘It’s All Academic’ to compete with, rather than complement, UCL’s existing corporate identity. The design uses classical fonts combined with provocative language and an eclectic handmade, punk inspired aesthetic. The subsequent communications feel surprising; intelligent yet rebellious.