FAQs

The Brand Evolution Project (BEP) is a strategic project designed to elevate Warwick's reputation on the global stage, aligning it with our values and ambitions for 2030 and beyond.

The evolved brand is more than just a new look for the University; it’s about crafting a clear, cohesive strategic story that sets Warwick apart and resonates with our community and the wider world. The project has built a brand that reflects Warwick's purpose, values, and ambitions as a world-leading university in a digital era.

With input from thousands of students, staff, alumni, and the wider community, our evolved brand is something we are proud to share because we have worked together to co-create it. Our evolved brand will provide us with an opportunity to tell our distinctive story to the world which will be vital in supporting our student recruitment and brand awareness ambitions.

All feedback collected during the roadshows was carefully analysed. The insights gained informed decisions on the direction of the brand evolution – such as the decision to continue developing the Modernised Crest concept, and the 'Beyond’ brand positioning statement.

Three visual concepts were tested: the Modernised Crest, the Unshackled Bear, and the Oval.

Two positioning statements were tested: ‘Beyond’ and ‘UltraExploration’.

Based on feedback, the Modernised Crest and the ‘Beyond’ positioning statement were taken forward for further developed as they best reflected Warwick’s identity and aspirations.

Our ‘internal audiences’ are people that already have a relationship with the University. We class our current students, staff, alumni, civic partners, business partners, international agents, partner institutions, Council members and University Executive Board as ‘internal’.

Our ‘external audiences’ are people that we would like to attract to Warwick but that we don’t currently have a relationship with. These include prospective students, their parents, teachers, and prospective academics.

Yes, all departments have been involved in the Brand Evolution Project.

Representatives from each area have been actively involved in shaping the project from the start, and we're continuing to discuss strategic recommendations on how they can implement the evolved brand

We have issued updated digital templates and resources on our Brand Portal for use from June 18th 2025. All digital channels and assets should be updated where possible, with any new projects and campaigns to take on the evolved brand immediately.

We understand that some projects that are already live or have been created before June 18th 2025 will remain in old branding during the live phase.

If you have any printed materials featuring our previous branding, please continue using them until depleted to minimise additional expenses and reduce environmental impact. We envisage that the brand will roll out across the University over three years.

Should you need guidance on the potential impacts of the Brand Evolution Project on reordering assets or printed materials, please contact the Brand Team. We can offer practical advice and insights to help you make informed decisions regarding your ongoing projects.

2025 marks our 60th Anniversary, it's the ideal time to unify and evolve our brand to reflect Warwick's growth as a world-leading university and support future goals. This project also aligns with other major initiatives, such as the transformation of our website and campus 'wayfinding' (signage), both of which will require a cohesive future-proofed brand that provides a more accessible and engaging digital presence

Through the online survey, people were invited to score each concept based on desired criteria, as well as having the option to pick their overall favourite concept, and the opportunity to include additional feedback in free text boxes.

The survey found that the Modernised Crest was the overall preferred visual identity concept, across internal and external audiences.

The Modernised Crest concept received the most positive feedback overall and was unanimously the preferred concept across our internal audiences, with 61% of people stating this as their preferred concept.

Internal audiences gave the Modernised Crest the highest positive scores, stating that this was the concept that best conveyed Warwick’s brand, appealed to them the most and would be the proudest of.

85% of external audiences stated that the Modernised Crest positively appealed to them and felt that the concept conveys what the University of Warwick wants to be known for.

Of the two brand positioning statements, our internal audiences felt that the ‘Beyond’ statement was authentic to Warwick and reflected our ambitions for 2030 and beyond. External audiences showed an equal preference for both positioning statements.

While the Modernised Crest and ‘Beyond’ statement received the strongest support, we considered the constructive feedback that we received on all the concepts and used that to refine the final stages of the project.

We have issued updated digital templates and resources on our Brand Portal for use from June 18th 2025. All digital channels and assets should be updated where possible, with any new projects and campaigns to take on the evolved brand immediately.

We understand that some projects that are already live or have been created before June 18 2025 will remain in old branding during the live phase.

If you have any printed materials featuring our previous branding, please continue using them until depleted to minimise additional expenses and reduce environmental impact. We envisage that the brand will roll out across the University over three years.

Should you need guidance on the potential impacts of the Brand Evolution Project on reordering assets or printed materials, please contact the Brand Team. We can offer practical advice and insights to help you make informed decisions regarding your ongoing projects.

This evolution has been driven by extensive community feedback, and the views and opinions of our internal and external audiences has fed into the decision-making process at every point.

The Coat of Arms will be retained for ceremonial purposes and as such will continue to appear on degree certificates and graduation materials.

This project was led by our highly talented and skilled staff with additional support from a brand transformation agency, illustrator and photographer.

Within the early stages of the project, we engaged with our students to understand their perceptions of our current brand. Student voices helped us to understand more about Warwick's identity, what students value and where our current brand falls short for some. This feedback directly influenced the concepts presented in the market testing phase.

We have been thrilled with the level of student engagement we have received within the project—thank you to everyone who spoke to us on the roadshow stands or completed the survey during market testing.

With an initial target of achieving 2,000 total responses from all our different stakeholder groups, we’re delighted that over 7,500 people shared their feedback, demonstrating a remarkable level of engagement from our community.

Our students gave the Modernised Crest the highest positive scores, stating that this was the concept that best conveyed Warwick’s brand, appealed to them the most and they would be the proudest of.

You can read more about the research behind the project on the Brand Evolution Project page.

The Brand Team provides advice and assistance to help maintain a consistent branded appearance across Warwick, and we are available to offer guidance on whether materials align with our brand guidelines. For help with this, please first review the brand guidelines, and then please get in touch with us via our contact form should you need any further assistance.

The University of Warwick brand guidelines have been created to increase the consistency of our brand, which provides the following significant benefits:

• A seamless experience that builds trust for our key audiences. 
• Clarity for people needing to understand what constitutes a part of the University. 
• Stronger brand recognition so people can identify Warwick from our visual assets. 
• The whole institution contributing to the strength of the University brand.

The Brand Team provides advice and assistance to help maintain a consistent branded appearance across Warwick, and we are available to offer guidance on whether materials align with our brand guidelines. For help with this, first review your content against the brand guidelines, and then please get in touch with us via our contact form should you need any further clarification or assistance. 

‘Approval’ of an asset from the brand team signifies that the asset is 'on brand' in accordance with our brand guidelines. Any advice from our team is intended to support with branding related queries, and to make sure your asset aligns with the University of Warwick’s brand. 

Whilst the brand team can confirm that your asset is in line with the brand guidelines, it does not imply sign off of the quality or effectiveness of your asset.

For all other general marketing queries, please contact a member of MCI.

You can find a bank of images on Asset Bank, the University’s online image library, and log in using the details below:

• Username: deptaccess1
• Password: 4ss3tB4nk

The login will give you viewing permissions, please contact the Brand Team with the ID numbers of the images you would like to have, with a brief summary of how and where you plan to use them for GDPR purposes.

Please find below the log-in details to give you access to Asset Bank. Everything on there has been cleared for consent and copyright.

You can login to Asset Bank here, using the details below:

• Username: deptaccess1
• Password: 4ss3tB4nk

The login will give you viewing permissions, please contact the Brand Team with the ID numbers of the images you would like to have, with a brief summary of how and where you plan to use them for GDPR purposes.

If you need video footage, please get in touch with us via our contact form and we will pass on your request to the relevant team.

The University has a list of ten approved photography suppliers available to commission for photography and videography.

As a rule of thumb, where individuals are the focus of a photograph, video or sound recording (either alone or in a group) you will need to obtain their consent before capturing images, footage or audio recordings of them. If they are under the age of 16, a parent or guardian needs to provide consent on their behalf.

Where individuals are not the focus of a photograph, for instance, a video camera sweeping over a crowd or at a distance photograph, then it may be in the legitimate interest of the University to capture the image(s). However, in these cases we must let individuals know that pictures/ video/ audio are being collected and give them the right to opt-out.

For large events, where it isn't practical to obtain consent forms from each individual, you must ensure that attendees are aware that filming or photography will take place and provide an opportunity to opt-out. This could be via email in advance, a verbal announcement at the event and/or prominently displaying the photography and filming notice.

Yes, the University provides guidelines for imagery including our recommended styles of photography and our videography guidelines which include information on idents and the lower third. You can also use our list of approved photography suppliers.

Yes, our brand colours pass all accessibility requirements.  

We recommend our RGB/Hex colour codes to be used mainly for creative assets such as web headers. which can be found on our Design Elements page.

The colour codes for digital, web and print applications are available from the brand guidelines

All requests for logos must be made to the Brand Team.

Please get in touch with us via our contact form, outlining your requirement.  

If you require a logo or departmental lockup then please get in touch with the Brand Team using our contact form with a brief description of your requirements.

If you wish to use the WMG logo, please email the WMG marketing team to request the logo and for further guidance and advice on how and where it can be used.

If you wish to use the WBS logo, please email the WBS marketing team to request the logo and for further guidance and advice on how and where it can be used.

Please visit the WMS marketing and communications pages, or email WMS Marketing and Communications for further guidance. 

Our brand is valuable, and misuse of the University’s logo can result in reputational damage and financial loss. Before passing our logo on to anyone external to the University (e.g. a partner, customer or supplier), you must ensure that your agreement with the third party contains suitable brand protection. If there is no related agreement, please get in touch with us via our contact form.

There are instances where the Warwick logo can be used alongside the logos of external organisations and partners – known as ‘third parties’ - to signify partnership and collaboration. Our brand is valuable, and misuse of the University’s logo can result in reputational damage and financial loss. Before passing our logo on to anyone external to the University (e.g. a partner, customer or supplier), you must ensure that your agreement with the third party contains suitable brand protection. If there is no related agreement, please get in touch with us via our contact form. 

In cases where there is suitable brand protection in place, and you would like to use our logo to represent a partnership or a third-party company, you can find guidance on how to do this on the logos page.

Our brand portal provides top level social media guidance from a brand perspective, focusing on whether content aligns with brand guidelines and is accessible. 

For more detailed and channel specific guidance on social media that isn’t covered in the brand guidelines, please email the Social Media Team via socialmedia@warwick.ac.uk.

There are downloadable event photography signs and consent forms available on the downloads page

All promotional merchandise that is institutionally branded needs to be ordered through our promotional merchandise portal. Any items being created and ordered by WMG and WBS (using their own brand) needs to go through any of our approved suppliers.

If you have any questions in relation to promotional merchandise, please contact the Brand Team who can help advise.  

The University of Warwick is a recognised global brand. The association that the University name brings is of excellence, quality, prestige and global recognition. Working with an agreed selection of agencies allows us to represent our brand in creative ways that align with our brand guidelines, meet the needs of our audiences, and offer value for money.

You must only use the framework suppliers. The suppliers on the framework have gone through a rigorous assessment process and been instructed in the use of the University brand. If you have experienced an issue with the performance or service or value for money of a supplier please get in touch with us via our contact form.

No. For new pieces of work, new quotes should be requested. If you’re expecting to do a number of pieces of work with the same supplier over a period of time, then this could be factored into the creative briefing and quotes sought for a campaign rather than individual pieces of work.

If there is an issue with pricing, terms and conditions or supplier performance please contact Procurement. For any other issues, please get in touch with us via our contact form.

Negotiate with the supplier to reduce costs. Otherwise, please seek alternative quotes from elsewhere on the framework.