A brand refresh needs a maintenance plan
The University of Minnesota’s refresh pairs new marks, typography and colour guidance with a staged rollout that gives teams time to adopt the system.
The unglamorous part of identity work is making adoption possible.
The Story
The University of Minnesota’s refreshed brand launch is notable for how clearly it treats identity as an organisational rollout. The work includes updated marks, typography, colour and digital guidance, but teams are not expected to change everything overnight.
That staged approach is easy to overlook in portfolio culture. Yet a brand only becomes real when people with different levels of confidence can use it correctly under deadline, across departments, channels and formats.
For Studio Wensday, this is a reminder to make the adoption plan part of the creative deliverable: templates, examples, office hours, do-and-don’t guidance and a realistic transition window. ([umarcomm.umn.edu](https://umarcomm.umn.edu/blog/2026/09/08/refreshed-brand-website-and-new-brand-campaign-have-launched?utm_source=openai))
Studio Wensday Angle
Design the handover as carefully as the identity.