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    This PDF contains the most up-to-date version of the College of LSA's brand guidelines

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    This PDF showcases a repository of templates developed to assist departments and units with creating brand-compliant assets for their own use.

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    This PDF showcases a gallery of brand work created by the college's marketing and communications team.

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    This document summarizes the research methodologies, insights, and results of the brand refresh.

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    This document is an example of photography direction that encompasses our brand guidelines.

College of LSA: Reimagining our Brand through a DEI Lens

Category

Marketing > Marketing: Branding (Department or Subunit)

Description

Best of CASE District V Award
 

Institution: University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

Title of entry: College of LSA: Reimagining our Brand through a DEI Lens

About this entry: The College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) engages diverse audiences—from students to donors—through strategic messaging, outreach, and fundraising. We connect our audiences to the joy, power, and value of the liberal arts, inspiring them to think, feel, and act in ways that sustain the college and its remarkable global community. Branding plays a central role in the success of this work.

LSA brand standards, however, originally existed as a single, prospective student-focused one-sheet. In 2023, we completed an extensive brand refresh aiming to better reflect the breadth and myriad identities of our audiences. Recognizing the potential for institutional branding to drive change, but also unintentionally exclude or harm, we sought to reimagine our brand through the lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Collaboration with DEI experts and stakeholders possessing lived experiences allowed a shift from industry norms to a more inclusive and thoughtful creative process, and investment in tools, including a Digital Asset Manager (DAM), democratized access to a rich array of brand assets, empowering all LSA’s units to represent themselves authentically, regardless of their size or resources.

These efforts faced challenges, including resistance to DEI in higher education. Nonetheless, our results speak volumes: better representation, a community that feels seen and heard, and a more equitable creative landscape. All of these efforts are underscored by built-in processes and brand guidelines that codify DEI throughout our work. CASE recognition would not only validate our efforts but also inspire similar initiatives in higher education marketing and branding.