Elevating a university’s brand to align with its achievements

Carleton University is a world-class institute of learning and growth, but its reputation lagged behind its achievements. They needed to update their image, and start to tell their story in a consistent, proud, and engaging way.

We built a new brand identity around Carleton’s aspirations, values, and location. We revitalized their shield, updated their colour palette, and introduced new unique design elements to tell Carleton’s story in an exciting way.

WORDMARK

Carleton University appears in a modern, distinctive and progressive font called Roboto Slab Bold that is highly visible and stands out.

MAPLE LEAF

Appearing in a vibrant red, this traditional nod to the Canadian flag ties Carleton to our nation’s capital.

SHIELD

This shield shape represents tradition and strength — it has been modernized to provide a bold yet sleek look.

WAVES

This pattern symbolizes the pages of a book and the knowledge it contains, alludes to our campus location, and suggests the wings of a raven. It also signifies vibrant, forward momentum.

We also updated their business school’s identity to bring it more in line with the revitalized Carleton brand. Drawing from the new shield, we incorporated the wave pattern into Sprott’s new wordmark. We also incorporated the wave, in grey, in Sprott’s marketing materials — creating a system that differentiates it from Carleton, but maintains a close relationship.