In 2015 I took on the task of refreshing the look and feel of the University of Sheffield Careers Service to closer match the identity and personality of the service.
Materials in the previous branding style.
The previous style used for marketing materials used a heavy black outline and 5 bright colours to represent the 5 areas of service that the Careers Service provides. However this created many design problems, and often created an uninviting appearance.
Many students understandably feel intimidated by the idea of thinking about careers – it’s a big and daunting topic! As such, many were uncomfortable approaching the Careers Service, assuming it was reserved for final year students who wanted to talk about a life long career. Some had even suggested that they thought they would need to wear a suit to visit the Service! We wanted to refresh the image to show that the Careers Service is a welcoming and inviting place, here to help students at any level with a range of topics.
One main objective was to bring the Careers Service closer to the overall University brand. However this meant trying to create a unique identity without using a logo, and whilst using the same typefaces and type setting as the rest of the University. This created an interesting challenge. We opted to create a graphic device that would be used within illustrations and designs, rather than being used as a badge to stick onto materials.
The Careers Service ‘map pin’ and colours
The image we decided to go with was the map pin. Familiar, easy to understand and an icon of direction and place, the map pin suitably represents the purpose of the Careers Service and brings the design into a modern look which our target audience would recognise. We also refreshed the colour scheme to make it softer, more comforting and easy on the eye. The black used previously was removed completely.
