Imperial Brand Project

Imperial is a fantastic institution, delivering world-changing impact. The goal of our brand is to tell our story with greater clarity, confidence and impact.

Building our brand will help us compete on a sustainable basis in the very top tier internationally. It’s at the heart of the ambition and vision we have set through our new institutional strategy, and our own community signaled a clear desire to bolster our reputation and get Imperial the recognition it deserves. This work will deliver multiple benefits, from attracting the best talent, funding and partnerships, to our general reputation and ranking. The initial work on the Brand Project ran from June 2023 to February 2024, and was supported by a Project Board, a Working Group, and a Critical Friends Group. The new brand guidelines, including our brand strategy, visual and verbal identity, was made available to our community on 27 February.

We worked with the design studio Pentagram on the brand strategy and creative elements, and with the inclusive research agency Open Inclusion to ensure the inclusivity and accessibility of this work.

We now have a new visual and verbal identity that are rooted in our science heritage, modern, confident and expressive. Both elements articulate Imperial's purpose and vision, our strengths – including our London location – and our impact, all while differentiating us in a crowded and competitive landscape.

The guidelines, tools and resources are available to all staff and students and can be viewed from the Brand page. You can see some examples of the creative work here:

Project stages

The Imperial Brand Project comprised the following stages: 

• Research and discovery (interviews, survey, focus group sessions and desk-based research to understand our challenges and opportunities). 
• Developing a brand proposition (something that captures and articulate Imperial’s purpose, vision and differentiators)      
• A review of our brand identity system (including logo, typeface and colour palette) 
• The development of a brand toolkit (the guidelines and assets needed for long-term delivery and management of the brand) 

Our history and our name

Imperial has a mission to achieve enduring excellence in research and education in science, engineering, medicine and business for the benefit of society and is driven by a commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion. We are open and welcoming to all and working hard to widen participation. There is much to be proud of and we want people to hear this positive, progressive story and see the impact that Imperial creates for the benefit of society.

At the same time, we recognise that the word “Imperial” can come with certain connotations and historical connections to the British Empire. Rather than hide away from this, we believe it’s important that we put our name into context and encourage an honest and open dialogue about our history – while also telling a confident and proud story of what Imperial means today.

Our full institutional name – Imperial College London – remains unchanged. We have chosen to use “Imperial” as an official visual shorthand for our name in our logo. London remains a hugely important part of who we are, and will be fully reflected through our brand outputs, such as through imagery and text.

Community engagement 

From the outset of the project, our goal has been a brand identity that reflects and serves the whole Imperial community, so input and feedback from staff, students and alumni has been important throughout this process. The research and discovery phase in summer included stakeholder interviews, focus groups and a quantitative survey open to all students, staff and alumni, immersion sessions and site visits.

Our whole community of Imperial students, staff and alumni was invited to feedback on the initial creative work on the brand identity during a focused period of engagement in September and October. This included a video presentation, online survey and in person and online feedback sessions that were open to all students, staff and alumni. A big thanks to all those who contributed and continue to provide feedback.

Accessibility and inclusivity 

We are committed to ensuring the inclusivity and accessibility of this work, so alongside our community feedback and testing, we have worked with Open Inclusion, an inclusive research agency.

Any questions?

If you have any questions about the Imperial brand, please visit the Brand team webpage or contact us at brand@imperial.ac.uk.