Winners 2017/Public Sector Bronze

Project: Brunel University London Design Strategy

Client: Brunel University London

Design: Brand Ethos & Reason Design

Brunel University London had seen a decline in student numbers of 13% over three years. A refreshed design framework was needed to drive recruitment, to reverse this decline by transforming students’ journey of application.

Thanks to the new design strategy, that established a clear and consistent proposition, Brunel generated a boost of £9.45million in fees just through Clearing places alone.

Across the design components a simple mechanism to relate the two core elements of what Brunel stands for – applied learning and getting ready to work – are applied. The new style, with a colour palette of brighter tones, is continued across every touch point with prospective students creating a strong visual story.

In 2016, undergraduate applications rose by 9% - that’s compared to the 8% fall experienced by competitors. During Clearing, incoming calls to the team increased by 32% and they secured 350 extra students.