VIU Brand Standards Coming Your Way!

Wondering about the correct way to use the VIU logo on your materials, how to choose a photograph that depicts an authentic student experience, or how to start and maintain a social media presence that reflects both your program or area and the VIU brand?

The answers to these questions and more about the VIU brand will be answered in a new document we’re working on in the Strategic Marketing office. The updated and expanded VIU Brand Standards will support our internal community in the use of the VIU brand in a broad range of communications materials.

A brand is far more than a logo or a visual identity. The VIU brand is about the promise we make to students, and it is a reflection of our University’s reputation and values. It’s how we present ourselves in every way, including in our communications and the materials we produce and how we’re perceived by the many audiences we serve. VIU’s brand, in its purest sense, is how a person – a current or future student, an employee, a donor, a community member, a parent – feels when they think about the institution.

When we’re consistent in communicating VIU’s brand, it helps us set our University apart from other post-secondary institutions in an increasingly competitive sector, and it allows us to share VIU’s unique attributes in a uniform way. Consistent use of the brand also supports student recruitment.

VIU’s Brand Standards will be rolled out in a phased approach, with the first phase addressing key questions about brand that we know the VIU community has in mind. (Because we get them all the time in our office!) We anticipate that future phases will bring more enhancements and improvements to how we present the brand – both visually and in our communications. We anticipate that future phases will include broader involvement of the VIU community as we tackle some even bigger questions.

Stay tuned for more news and a roll out of the VIU Brand Standards. If you have questions now, contact me at Communications@viu.ca