NSCAD Extended Studies Brand
- 6+ Years Stylesheet Unchanged
- 10+ Deliverable Types
- Live Templates in Active Use
While working as an administrator at NSCAD University, I proposed taking on the branding for the Extended Studies department, an initiative I identified, scoped, and pitched myself. The department needed a cohesive visual identity that could sit alongside NSCAD University's broader brand guidelines while feeling distinct and ownable for Extended Studies specifically.
The project required navigating multiple adjacent brand systems, the university's main identity, the Anna Leonowens Gallery guidelines, and the Extended Studies department's existing materials, and synthesizing them into something unified, professional, and genuinely usable by non-designers on staff.
While working as an administrator at NSCAD University, it became clear that the Extended Studies department needed a cohesive visual identity, so the project was proposed and scoped without being asked. The brief required something that could sit alongside NSCAD's broader brand guidelines while feeling distinct and ownable for Extended Studies specifically, and durable enough to be used by non-designers on staff long after the project was done.
The work meant navigating multiple adjacent brand systems, the university's main identity, the Anna Leonowens Gallery guidelines, and the department's existing materials, and synthesizing them into something unified and genuinely lasting. The existing logo was simplified and refined, typography standards and an expanded secondary colour palette were established, and a full suite of deliverables was designed: document templates, social media templates including animated Instagram story templates, a Brightspace LMS template, a Certificate template, a Campaign Monitor email template, and a comprehensive brand guidelines document written specifically so future staff could use it confidently.
Weekly meetings with the head of Extended Studies throughout the process kept the work grounded in the department's actual needs rather than in personal design preferences, a discipline that makes the difference between a project that lasts and one that gets quietly replaced.
The central question every decision was tested against: will this hold when I'm not here? The answer, six years later, is yes. That kind of longevity doesn't happen by accident. It happens when you build with enough clarity and flexibility that the system can breathe without breaking. The best design documentation is always written for the person who comes after you.
