The Transform Awards recognise excellence and reward innovation in branding across Europe, both in terms of creativity and strategic thought.

“Best brand architecture solution”

Our top-level rebrand of Cranfield University is shortlisted in the Brand Architecture category.

After 70 years of organic growth, Cranfield had amassed scores of sub-brands, many with their own logos, and audiences often had no relationship with the parent brand. A coherent cross-university brand was needed, so IE Brand assembled a map of all of these sub-brands to convince internal stakeholders of the need to rationalise.

IE Brand then developed a new brand architecture, with Cranfield’s eight industry specific go-to-market themes at its heart. As a result, Cranfield now has a clear structure for the creation of any future brand entities, along with a new visual identity and brand guidelines to police its use.

Read the full Cranfield case study

“Best use of a visual property”

The other IE Brand work that’s been recognised by the Transform Judges is our rebrand of University of Reading’s Careers service. It’s up for two gongs: “Best use of a visual property” – which celebrates use of imagery, be that illustration, photography, video or other disciplines – and the sector award for “Best brand identity for education”.

University of Reading had found it difficult to motivate students and academics to engage with the careers service. They needed to cut through the ‘noise’ of university messaging to raise awareness, without stepping outside core brand guidelines.

IE Brand’s stakeholder listening revealed a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ personality, with Reading students needing a mix of gentle coaxing to engage with the careers team, combined with a strong dose of ‘tough love’ from advisors to spur them into taking action.

IE Brand’s designers created a visual identity based on witty, whimsical illustrations and a collage style to intrigue students to take a closer look at the services on offer, teamed with strong copy to give students the kick they needed. The beautiful, distinctive new identity launched at Freshers’ Week in September 2016, resulting in increased attendance at careers workshops and improved social media engagement.

Read our University Careers case study

“A very competitive year”

The Transform Awards are hotly contested by big global agencies as well as smaller, local organisations.

Andrew Thomas, Publishing editor at Transform magazine told us, “This year has seen a tremendous increase in the number of entries, up an astonishing 35% on last year, and the calibre of entry commensurately increased. The judging was extremely thorough so this year has been a very competitive year to reach the shortlist.”

Find out more about the Transform Awards

We can’t wait for the ceremony on 30th March to celebrate our nominations and hopefully bring home the trophies!