Many terms can be applied to this project -- brand identity system, brand essence, visual identity system, personality, experience, visual and verbal vocabulary, how we talk about and present the College to the world, etc. -- but one way to explain the project is through the scope of work outlined in the RFP.
What follows are two highlights from the RFP: why and what we have asked Little & Co. to do, that College staff will carry forward; and the full excerpt from the RFP on background, scope of work/project summary, and evaluation criteria.
Why are we doing this?
- Both to create a strong sense of the new entity—the value of its programs, research, and faculty—and to reduce confusion among current and prospective students, the college wants to build a dynamic and flexible visual identity system for use in both print and Web communications products that will recruit, promote, market, and celebrate the new college to both internal and external audiences.
- It represents an exceptional opportunity to allow every member of the college community a voice in articulating just who we are, why we’re here, what makes us special, and how we present ourselves to the world.
What are we asking them to do?
- Create a coherent, yet flexible, identity system solution that will represent a complex and diverse college within the larger University. Identify what differentiates the college from its local and national peers and articulate a compelling brand identity that inspires the support of its broad range of constituents.
- Intentionally use the process to bring our new community together and get to know itself better.
- Redesign/update the college wordmark to complement and/or incorporate the University’s existing wordmark.
- Develop a visual identity system for the college brand and recommend how it would be extended into all communications media—print and electronic—for the college and its current programs, centers, and departments.
BACKGROUND / SCOPE OF WORK / EVALUATION CRITERIA
1.1 BACKGROUND
The College of Education and Human Development, founded in 1905, is ranked fifth among public graduate programs in education in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. The teaching licensure programs in the college are fully accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. The college prepares students and professionals for practice in school, community, and human development careers and also generates the research-based knowledge to inform that practice across disciplines and age groups. It is a newly reorganized college with a century-long reputation, locally and globally, for innovative ideas and teaching.
The college currently has more than 6,000 students in undergraduate programs, teacher licensure, and graduate studies. Faculty number almost 200 and staff, more than 600. The college has more than 65,000 alumni worldwide.
In June 2006, the college and its programs were moved into a new college by the same name that now includes these nine departments:
- Institute of Child Development
- Department of Curriculum and Instruction
- Department of Educational Policy and Administration
- Department of Educational Psychology
- Department of Family Social Science (formerly within College of Human Ecology)
- School of Kinesiology
- Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning (formerly General College)
- School of Social Work (formerly within College of Human Ecology)
- Department of Work and Human Resource Education
A wide variety of programs and degree tracks reside in each academic department. The college has five collegewide research and outreach centers, some of which operate fairly autonomous to the college and some more closely. Examples of other collegewide offices, service centers, and initiatives include: student services—graduate and undergraduate, advising, multicultural programs, service centers; educator development office and continuing professional studies (which includes initiatives and programs such as Urban Leadership Academy); alumni and development; University of Minnesota Child Care Center. More information about the college, its programs, and mission can be found on our Web site, education.umn.edu.
While we are a “new� college at the University of Minnesota, we have numerous remnants—former visual looks and logos, which refer back to former structures. Both to create a strong sense of the new entity—the value of its programs, research, and faculty—and to reduce confusion among current and prospective students, the college wants to build a dynamic and flexible visual identity system for use in both print and Web communications products that will recruit, promote, market, and celebrate the new college to both internal and external audiences.
One of the most important goals of this project is to help the college community to articulate who and what and why this college is—our way of understanding and talking about what makes us the unique and excellent institution that we are: our brand. This articulation, when distilled, will guide the development of the visual identity system.
This project is more significant than creating a “look� that announces our one-of-a-kind identity with every brochure or Web page that we produce, as exciting and valuable as that will be. It represents an exceptional opportunity to allow every member of the college community a voice in articulating just who we are, why we’re here, what makes us special, and how we present ourselves to the world.
We expect the prevailing proposal for this project to both conduct the internal branding research and to develop the new college’s visual identity elements and system based on that research, in consultation with the communications office staff, senior college administration, and, when relevant, members of the University marketing team.
1.2 SCOPE OF WORK – PROJECT SUMMARY
The College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) would like respondents to describe their approach to the following categories of work and the resources and capabilities they would put to use.
College Identity System
Create a coherent, yet flexible, identity system solution that will represent a complex and diverse college within the larger University. Identify what differentiates the college from its local and national peers and articulate a compelling brand identity that inspires the support of its broad range of constituents. Intentionally use the process to bring our new community together and get to know itself better.
The college employs a fully-staffed communications office including designers, writers, and Web personnel. Implementation of the identity system and ongoing work will be carried out by the internal creative staff. In developing the visual identity system, its defining elements, and sample applications, the selected firm should work closely and collaboratively with in-house design staff (2) and other members of the communications office.
Deliverables:
- Conduct research that incorporates and encourages conversations and connections across the community of college stakeholders.
- Redesign/update the college wordmark to complement and/or incorporate the University’s existing wordmark. Present at least two alternative design concepts.
- Develop a visual identity system for the college brand and recommend how it would be extended into all communications media—print and electronic—for the college and its current programs, centers, and departments. Present at least two alternative design concepts.
- The visual identity system should be built upon comprehensive design architecture.
- The visual identity system should explore and recommend the use of color, iconography, typography, visual imagery, texture, shape, composition, grid (with size/format variations), and other defining design elements and visual language for clearly communicating the overall college brand.
- The visual identity system should provide a solution for distinguishing between the college’s various “sub-brands� while maintaining a strong college and University identity. We are open to exploring fresh approaches for how these sub-brands are defined. For example, rather than be defined by programs, centers, college offices, and academic departments, the sub-branding structure could be defined across these organizational/departmental structures through multidisciplinary themes, career paths, audience, or other connecting concepts. Provide a publications architecture and sub-branding structure that supports various organizational levels within the college.
- The visual identity system will address how the new (redesigned) college wordmark and University of Minnesota wordmark and branding guidelines would be represented within the design architecture. It would identify opportunities to incorporate the University’s long-term Driven to Discover campaign.
- Demonstrate how the visual identity system could be applied in specific pieces, e.g., three sample Web pages at various levels: college Web home page, departmental Web home page, and page within a department’s site; print pieces such as student recruitment brochure series (teaching, counseling, advance study, undergraduate options), program information sheets, and other marketing and communications pieces. These sample applications should demonstrate how the visual identity system and its defining elements can be applied to pieces at various levels within the design and publications architecture, showing possible variations within the system. Sample applications should be selected to represent the widest range of potential applications.
- Develop visual identity guidelines. These guidelines should not be produced as a comprehensive brand identity manual, but should be a concise document that summarizes the college’s brand identity—its brand essence, key concepts, and guiding principles. The guidelines should also specify, articulate, and depict the defining elements of the visual identity system to be applied throughout all communications.
1.3 EVALUATION CRITERIA
The Respondent selected for an award will be the Respondent whose proposal is the most advantageous to the University. The University is not bound to accept the lowest priced proposal if that proposal is not in the best interests of the University as determined by the University in its sole discretion. Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:
Understanding of contract requirements - 10%
- Completeness of response to RFP
- Detailed response to each task, including timeframes, deliverables, and costs
Agency background and range of services available from the agency - 10%
- Demonstrated capability to perform the full spectrum of activities from defining project objectives/parameters to generating design/creative concepts to developing and executing project deliverables
- Demonstrated expertise across multiple communications disciplines including but not limited to branding, identity systems, marketing communications, and Web design
- Ability to adapt agency creative processes and/or proprietary tools to address client’s specific needs
Creative solution capability - 30%
- Demonstrated creativity and strategic thinking
- Demonstrated ability to leverage the power of a brand
- Use of consistent and appropriate brand imagery across all marketing elements
- Integrated on/offline experience and understanding
- Customer understanding and focus
- Demonstrated experience in designing and implementing comprehensive visual identity systems
- Projected project timeline
Administrative, management and staffing - 10%
- Ability to coordinate with CEHD staff on the project
- Capability of providing the adequate number and quality of staff members to accomplish tasks in a timely and quality manner
- Explanation of whether/how additional vendors would support project work
Agency qualifications, experience and references - 20%
- Ability to provide satisfactory references from similar client institutions/organizations for similar work
- Ability to provide satisfactory list of qualifications and professional experience for key staff assigned to this project
- Demonstrated industry knowledge
- Cultural fit between agency and client
- Capability and willingness to provide company financial statements, as requested
- Demonstrated financial stability of firm
Total cost - 20%
- Estimates of cost for each deliverable in this Request for Proposal
- A “not to exceed� price for each phase of the project
- A schedule of out-of-pocket expenses, if applicable
