Cal Poly Humboldt
A brand's future is found in the heart of California's north coast.
It’s not every day that your university is designated a polytechnic.
Backed by a — literal — historic state investment, the newly-christened Cal Poly Humboldt was faced with a duality of challenges: on one hand, to continue doing the world-shaping work that earned them their polytechnic designation in the first place, and on the other, to tell a newer and more true kind of story: about the future, about the North Coast, and about themselves.
The Insight
Capturing the experience of Humboldt within an unmistakable visual and verbal language was essential for the university to truly own its new role in the Cal State system. The result was an immersive, sensorily vibrant experience punctuated by poetic language that echoes the beauty of the landscape and illustrated with warm colors, dynamic lifestyle photography, and hand-drawn marks and textures reflecting the diversity of Humboldt’s community. To be part of Humboldt, whether a student, faculty, or community member, is to embrace a spirit of finding — finding yourself, and the future that suits you.
The Solution
After almost a year of creative and strategic work, Humboldt launched a new brand that transformed the polytechnic experience visually and verbally.
With a multi-year plan to expand programs, a new brand identity, and a complete website redesign, California’s northernmost polytechnic has a future brighter than ever.
The Results
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53%
// increase in undergraduate enrollment -
86%
// increase in first-year undergraduate applications -
74%
// increase in transfer and graduate applicants
