“WashU has a proud history and a strong reputation as a top university, but we definitely fly under the radar relative to some of the institutions we consider to be our academic peers,” Chancellor Andrew D. Martin, PhD ’98, said in a statement to the community Aug. 16. “Members of the WashU community — students, faculty, staff and alumni — are impacting the world daily, often in ways that are imperceptible to the public. We have an opportunity and an obligation to tell these stories in new ways and to the right audiences, to share with the world what WashU is and what we can do.”
To this end, as the new academic year began, Washington University in St. Louis unveiled a new visual identity and an enhanced effort to communicate its important contributions in the areas of education, research and patient care to key internal and external audiences. The update includes a new university logo and website and the official adoption of the widely used, shortened version of the university’s name, “WashU.”
“While there are many ‘Washingtons,’ there is only one ‘WashU.’ This update allows us to lean into who we are and what distinguishes us from our academic peers,” said Julie Hail Flory, MA ’17, vice chancellor for marketing and communications, as part of the universitywide announcement. “One of the limiting factors in broad-based awareness of the university is that there are many institutions with a similar name, which creates confusion about who — and where — we are.”
Part of the effort to build broad-based awareness for WashU is a storytelling campaign organized around the theme “This Is What WashU Can Do.” A collection of written and multimedia vignettes will demonstrate WashU’s impact on the world and its distinctive approach to building community on campus and beyond.
“If you know WashU, you know there’s something unique about our culture — an uncommon mixture of creativity, advocacy, rigor and empathy.”
Chancellor Andrew Martin
“If you know WashU, you know there’s something unique about our culture — an uncommon mixture of creativity, advocacy, rigor and empathy — that makes our work stronger and more impactful,” Martin added. “WashU people are energized by possibilities and work together generously to get things done. I believe WashU is the most collaborative place to study and work in higher education, and I’d like us to be known not just for what we accomplish, but also for how we accomplish it.”
University administrators weren’t alone in expressing enthusiasm and approval for the brand refresh. Pamella Henson, executive vice chancellor for university advancement, received feedback from alumni voicing their appreciation.
Jason Kint, BSBA ’96, CEO of Digital Content Next, for example, wrote: “As the developer/designer/programmer for the original WashU website sometime around 1994, I just wanted to say it [the new website] looks fabulous … I also love the embracing of the WashU. Own it. Congrats on the wonderful work to steward WashU into the future.”
Susan Patterson, MSW ’79, a psychotherapist for Creative Insight Counseling, quipped: “WashU is better than fine. It’s as fresh as the park breezes that play across its vast front yard. Magic happens here!”
And Scott Markman, BFA ’81, who is founder and president of MonogramGroup, a Chicago brand agency, and who was the designer of the previous logo and brand design system in 1986, wrote Chancellor Martin directly, praising the transformation: “I am writing today as a proud alumnus of (the newly branded) WashU, as I have been every day since I graduated in 1981 with my BFA in graphic design.
“The refreshed brand conveys a sense of confident, modern, ‘comfortable-in-our-skinness’ that is in sync with the way millennials think and what they connect with. It’s who WashU is but was never confident enough to express.”
The update is the result of a collaborative, multiyear process led by University Marketing and Communications in partnership with schools and units across the university, informed by conversations with key internal and external stakeholders, and with strong support from Martin, Provost Beverly Wendland, the deans of all eight schools and a Board of Trustees–led task force.
“From day one, we enlisted the help of university leadership and our colleagues across WashU to make sure a wide range of voices were heard and that we had strong support for the new direction for WashU.”
Julie Flory
“From day one, we enlisted the help of university leadership and our colleagues across WashU to make sure a wide range of voices were heard and that we had strong support for the new direction for WashU,” Flory said. “It has been a team effort, and we’re proud to be able to share the results with our campus community, the St. Louis region, our alumni and friends, and, importantly, to introduce WashU to new audiences and show them what makes it such an amazing place.”
A full transition to the new visual identity will likely take two to three years, and in certain physical spaces the full, formal name of the university will remain for posterity.
“WashU is a complex organization. It’s important that we’re responsible stewards of university resources and that this update causes as little disruption to campus operations as possible,” said Mike Bulthaus, associate vice chancellor for university marketing. “Our longer timeline means we’ll be living in a ‘mixed-brand’ environment for the near term, but this will allow us to prioritize sustainability, tap into existing budgets and give our schools and departments adequate time to update their materials. It won’t be long before everything is ‘WashU,’ and we know it’ll be worth the wait.”
