The University of Sydney Business School
A new identity for a new pedagogy
In 2019, Sydney University’s Business School initiated the Connected Learning at Scale (CLaS) project. The project aims to create students who are connected to each other, who are active in solving authentic world problems and who are able to discover and apply relevant research.
To do so it was vital to move away from traditional, content-focussed teaching and to move towards self-direction, non-linear learning and connectivity to each other, the school and the world in which we live.
The visual identity for this new project not only had to communicate this, but had to create a graphic system that enabled this kind of learning. We partnered with learning designers, students and academics to prototype different ideas, scale those that work and then implement them across large units across the Business School.
|
Identity Campaign Web design Web development |
Dialogic Studios |
| Project Manager | Carmen Vallis |
| Video Lead | Boyd Britton |
| Animation | Andy Eisenberg |
The square block forms the foundation of the CLaS identity. It is a perfect metaphor learning, referencing the building blocks of our childhood. Its ability to exist both independently and as a collection speaks perfectly to the CLaS ideas of connectivity, scale, autonomous learning, puzzle solving and multi-directional problem solving.
A bespoke digital tool allows the Business School's team to easily create on-brand collateral without any design or software experience. This ensures all video, print and digital outputs are on brand with minimal turnaround time.
A visual styleguide was created to allow future content to be created that is on brand, consistent and beautiful. It also allows easy handover to inhouse and future design teams.
A particular focus was placed on the design of Canvas, the Business School's online learning platform. We had to subvert Canvas’s linear and text-based structure in order to achieve the non-linear nature of the new course design. It was also vital to that we standardised all the pages so that there was a clear hierarchy of information, easily scanned and clearly signposted.
