Emma Novotny

Arts Visual Identity System Guidelines


Introduction to the Arts Visual Identity System guidelines. 
Pages providing a high level overview of the VIS strategy.
An overview of how the VIS can be applied at the departmental level.
An overview UBC brand foundations and supplementary Arts design elements. 
The secondary goal of the document is to encourage the use of templates over designing custom materials. 

The Faculty of Arts Visual Identity System (VIS) guideline was intended for a general, non-designer audience, from Deans and Academic Heads to decentralized communications professionals. The document needed to show why brand alignment is important, demonstrate that the system allows for personality and customization, and steer audiences toward pre-built Arts templates. It also clarifies the relationship between the Arts VIS and UBC brand and explains when to use UBC versus Arts-specific elements. 

Because the VIS is regularly updated and our budget was limited, a website was not feasible and a PDF risked circulating outdated versions. We instead used Figma’s interactive prototype feature for the document, which gave us full control over the design and let us share a single URL that can be updated at any time. We kept the content focused and visually engaging, adding simple interactive elements that let readers switch between examples to see how the identity adapts to different scenarios.

Since the launch of the VIS guidelines, the Arts Templates and Resources page has remained the top viewed page on our internal resource site in quarterly analytics, and VIS-related queries have dropped, suggesting a better understanding of the system’s value. We use the document in onboarding for new staff across the Faculty, and this early introduction has coincided with a significant increase in the use of VIS templates and resources, such as unit-specific standing banners and digital signage templates. Together, these results show the document has improved communication practices and strengthened visual identity consistency across the Faculty.

Winner of a 2024 RGD In-House Design Award of Merit.

Creative Direction: Emma Novotny Design, Copywriting & Illustration: Jacob Pryce
Supporting Illustration: Katya Roxas
Strategic Direction: Annie Feng, Emi Sasagawa
Photography: Paul Joseph
Emma Novotny ©