Imperial College Union

Imperial College Union (ICU) is the students’ union of the iconic Imperial College London. Their mission is to make sure students have a transformational experience whilst at uni. And their mission for Yoyo was to transform their brand identity.

We couldn’t have been more excited to take on this challenge, and partnered with ICU to craft a refined identity which resonates with the entire student community, and a refreshed digital presence that makes it clear what ICU stands for.

ICU launched a new strategic plan in 2023 which highlighted one key issue: their brand wasn’t landing with students like it should. Many people thought ICU was just another arm of Imperial College (rather than an independent union), the brand voice and visuals felt inconsistent, and the website was outdated. 
With a new site and system on the way, it was the perfect time to hit refresh on their brand. We knew that by evolving their visual and verbal branding, ICU could carve out their own inclusive and engaging identity. And, most importantly, ICU knew we could deliver this for them.

It all started with a juicy discovery process, as team Yoyo took a deep dive into ICU’s existing positioning and student engagement trends. This gave us the solid foundation we needed to define a strategic approach to evolving the brand, without losing its essence. By stripping away the noise we were able to hone in on what really mattered: making sure students understand the value of ICU. From there we carefully developed a new tone of voice which is confident, friendly and engaging. And we solidified it in clear guidelines which outline exactly how ICU should sound, and how the team can write copy that makes all students (yep, all of them) feel included.

With Imperial College rolling out its own rebrand, ICU needed a look that felt distinct but complementary. We considered the college’s identity at all times whilst we worked to refine ICU’s colour palette, update their typeface and elevate their brand assets. All while making sure the existing logo was maintained and the brand worked across every platform.

ICU already had a new website on the way. So our designers collaborated closely with their developers to make sure that the refreshed brand would integrate seamlessly into the new website and CMS. Providing them with an accessible colour palette and typography suite, page layout designs that would appeal to ICU’s dynamic community, and UI elements tailored for an intuitive digital experience.

ICU now has a structured, student-friendly identity that clearly differentiates it from Imperial College London. With an engaging voice and flexible visual assets that work across all channels, the fresh branding makes sure students know exactly what ICU is - and why it matters. The brand new branding set them up for success ahead of the launch of their new site, so they could share their new style, seamlessly.