Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship
Research, Brand Strategy, Visual Design, Website Design & Development
Part of Simon Fraser University's Beedie School of Business, the Charles Chang Institute for Entrepreneurship (CCIE) is an interdisciplinary home and academic hub that works to ignite, nurture and demonstrate the entrepreneurial mindset.
We worked collaboratively with the CCIE team to design and build a refreshed website that welcomes collaboration amongst creators, thinkers and doers.
Our task for developing the visual language was to create a unique identity for the CCIE while retaining its visual association with SFU. Keeping the SFU red as the anchor, we added purple and blue to create a multi-coloured palette that reflects the brand’s daring, yet approachable personality. We used geometric shapes and lines to evoke a sense of play and adaptability and group-focused imagery to convey the CCIE’s commitment to collaboration and connection. The three leading colors were used to guide the distinct primary audiences through the website. For each pattern we included 8 "paths" to represent the 8 faculties of SFU.
Although this project was primarily focused on enhancing the CCIE's online presence, we wanted to clarify some core elements of the brand strategy to better understand the brand’s DNA.
When the CCIE team came to us, they were wary that their current messaging gave the impression that their programs were primarily for business students or people who wanted to start their own business. They wanted a strategy that more accurately conveyed their vision of interdisciplinary collaboration.
Part of this was shifting the strategic focus to highlight the importance of the ‘entrepreneurial mindset.’ We used inclusive language and storytelling to emphasize the benefits of the ‘entrepreneurial mindset,’ and its applicability to students from all faculties. This has allowed the CCIE to attract a more diverse set of creators, thinkers and doers with more open-arms and clarity.
