Imperial Shows What Higher-Ed Identity Can Feel Like
Why this matters to Wen: this is a sharp example of university branding that feels inhabited rather than merely prestigious.
Evidence: The Click’s Imperial identity system uses a flexible “I” device that can be owned across departments without losing coherence.
The Story
The Click’s identity for Imperial College London is a useful study because it does not confuse seriousness with stiffness. The core move is an adaptable “I” that can shift across schools and departments while still holding the system together. It feels institutional, yes, but not locked up behind a glass case.
The reporting also reveals a process that should matter to anyone working in higher education. The team interviewed departments across engineering, medicine, natural sciences, and business. That breadth matters. The resulting system does not just decorate the institution. It gives different parts of the institution somewhere to belong inside it.
That belonging is the real lesson. Too many university brands still lead with prestige alone, as if admiration is enough to make people feel attached. This project suggests a better route: coherence with room for lived identity. That is as much a strategy point as a design one.
Studio Wensday Angle
Review one brand system at work and ask a blunt question: does it only communicate status, or does it also give teams and audiences a visible way to feel included in the brand? If the answer is “mostly status,” there is space to improve.