Anhalt University – Rebranding Concept

•

REBRANDING: ANHALT UNIVERSITY of APPLIED SCIENCES

Only recently, the new logo of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences was unveiled. Despite a long prepared rebranding, however, the new logo was disappointing in many respects. In this project, I address this problem and try to conceive a rebranding that can represent a serious public institution and at the same time appear fresh and dynamic.

The aim was to design a logo and branding for the university that works openly and universally and yet has its own strong identity and reference to the state of Saxony-Anhalt. It should represent a reputable public institution and at the same time appear fresh and dynamic.

Master Intermediales Design Studio class HOW TO WIN DESIGN AWARDS

Project by: MARTIN NAUMANN

Advisors: PROF. KATJA THORING, PROF. ALEJANDRO LECUNA

THE PROBLEM

Negative feedback has been received so far from outsiders, students and staff of the university as well as from renowned design blogs such as BRANDNEW. There is criticism of the new logo / corporate design on many points:

– The symbol seems too childish to many people or is confused with other symbols, such as the AIDS ribbon. The original idea of the alpha symbol (α) is not particularly striking.

– The red and blue compete too much, especially in the shadow of the bow.

– Both the current house font Montserrat and the colors and gradients that belong to the corporate look generic and meaningless.

– The gradients/shadows look strange in many color variations. As a 1c version, the logo doesn't work very well or it looks like another symbol.

– The wordmark is also misleading to read because of the different font styles if you don't know the name.

the last three logos of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences (1991 – 1998 – 2021)

LOGO DESIGN

IDEA

The main logo for this branding is the initial letter A, similar to the university's previous logos. The basic idea of the symbol is the reference to the Anhalt heraldic animal - the bear, which becomes visible when the logo is turned 90°.

The logo is built on a very simple grid of four units. It is compact, memorable, and works both very small and large-scaled.

LOGO VARIATIONS

DEPARTMENT LOGOS

COLOURS

The colours of the rebranding, like the symbols in the logo, are derived from the namesake federal state that the university represents. This creates a colour scheme of soft red, dark blue as the main colours and vibrant neon as a bright, fresh additional colour. Derived from these tones, the colours rose, cool grey and beige were introduced as secondary colours.