Cambrian College

Overview

Over more than a decade working at Cambrian College, I have worked across the institution’s communications ecosystem, creating visual identities, campaigns, recruitment materials, digital experiences, environmental graphics and internal communications for departments and initiatives across the college.

The work ranges from large-scale recruitment campaigns and institutional communications to digital interfaces, social media, publications, signage and event materials.

Working within Cambrian’s brand system has required balancing consistency with the very different audiences, objectives and personalities of each department.

Rather than treating each project as an isolated piece of design, I approach Cambrian’s communications as part of a larger visual ecosystem—creating work that feels distinctly Cambrian while allowing individual campaigns and departments to communicate in their own voice.

Client

Cambrian College of Applied Arts and Technology

Disciplines

Branding & Identity, Editorial & Print, Illustration

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Cambrian College Rebrand

In 2022 Cambrian College decided to embark on a multi-year plan to rebrand the college. After consulting with multiple design firms, senior leadership decided that the in-house design team consisting of myself and my colleague were to take on the task of a rebrand. Through many months of research, iterations, and user-testing, we chose a new logo and launched the first phase of the new brand in January 2024.

Cambrian College logo from 1967 displayed with the the logo designed in 1995 by Ron Beltrame and the current Coat of Arms. Below are early explorations of new logos featuring dragons in shields, flames in a shield, a bolide in a shield and a shield made to look like a letter C.
Challenge

A large institution creates a particular design challenge: hundreds of communications are produced by different departments, for different audiences, across an ever-growing number of channels. The challenge was to maintain a recognizable and consistent Cambrian identity without allowing every piece of communication to become visually interchangeable.

Recruitment campaigns needed to attract prospective students. Internal communications needed to be clear and accessible. Student Life initiatives needed to feel energetic and approachable, while institutional communications required a more formal tone.

Exploration

Much of the work began with a simple question: what needs to remain consistent, and what can change?

Typography, colour, visual hierarchy and core brand elements provided the consistent foundation, while imagery, illustration, composition and supporting graphics could shift depending on the audience and purpose.

This approach allowed the same brand to move between recruitment advertising, digital experiences, publications, social media, signage and environmental applications without requiring every communication to look identical.

Working across so many formats also meant considering how designs behave beyond the screen or artboard—from large-format signage and environmental graphics to responsive digital layouts and small social-media placements.

The Logo

The logo consists of two elements – the impossible “C” shield and the wordmark.

The shield is comprised of two twisting shields that represent innovation and the understanding and new perspectives that comes with education. They also bear a likeness to the two “C” letters in the college’s name.

Logo Construction

In honour and respect of the college’s previous visual identity, the following elements have been incorporated into the logo:
The new logo is a twisting shield, accented with a flame, a symbol of the enlightenment that comes with education and study. This flame as well as the shield’s shape is connected to the College’s Coat of Arms. The shape of the flame pays homage to the dragon’s mane of the previous logo.

Cambrian College Logo Construction and grid lines
Results

The rebrand was launched on January 24, 2024, and is now being warmly embraced:

  • Won an RGD 2024 In-House Design Award of Distinction and was recognised at DesignThinkers in both Vancouver & Toronto.
  • Approximately 500 Cambrian staff, faculty, and students attended our brand launch events.
  • There has been support across all college departments for updating logos and branded materials.
  • We received positive media coverage across northern Ontario.
  • Was story #1 in Academica’s Top Ten on January 30, 2024. This daily e-newsletter is read by tens of thousands of professionals in the Canadian postsecondary sector.
  • Was the most-read story out of 50 articles among subscribers to Academica’s Top Ten for the week of January 29, 2024.

This brand was built for Cambrian, by creating the brand in-house, we not only showcased our expertise to senior management, but also validated the strength of Cambrian’s program and its graduates.

Also importantly, the rebrand solved the challenges experienced with the previous logo and visual identity, giving Cambrian a more flexible and cohesive foundation for its communications.

Woman in front of a backdrop that features the Cambrian College logo in a pattern on a burgundy background
Time Capsule

For Cambrian’s 50th anniversary, the College’s senior team decided to commemorate the occasion with a time capsule. I was tasked with the design of the exterior. I suggested that the enclosure should present a short history of the 50 years leading to its sealing. 

Denouement – The Untagnling

I designed an intricate timeline to represent the college’s major milestones to be emblazoned on glass, then elegantly displayed over a granite time capsule – granite harkens to the geology of the Sudbury basin, as granite is ever-present in the landscape. The glass went through a special emulsion printing process to imitate an etched look while preserving small details in the artwork.

College Wayfinding

Cambrian’s floor plan is notoriously difficult to navigate, so I decided to take it upon myself to create a new wayfinding system that would help people find their way across campus. As a self-led project, I initially needed to use my spare time to work on concepts to present to managers and decision-makers. Part of the challenge was the need to work within existing infrastructure due to budget constraints. After months of trials and error, I presented my concepts to senior team and got approval to go ahead with the new system. I worked with an accessibility advisor to choose colours and font sizes and weights that would be accessible to all, as well as fitting within the Cambrian brand and being aesthetically pleasing.