ESCI–UPF
Belong Become
The Pompeu Fabra International Business School (ESCI-UPF) was founded in 1994 during a time of globalization and technological revolution. Its students were educated in multiple disciplines using syllabuses that were created throughout that period.
From its humble beginnings, with no official building or a certified qualification, it initially asked students to use their own laptops and modems to study (25% in English) in a Post-Olympic Barcelona.
The university celebrated its 20th anniversary in May 2014, at a time when Barack Obama had just started his second term as president, the United Nations were leading the fight against climate change and the economy appeared to be in recovery. It was then that ESCI launched the DOERS campaign, marking an important milestone in the business school’s identity, which continues until this day.
It is now 25 years since the university’s inception and we live in a very different world. With today’s global context in mind the ESCI-UPF asked LITW to create a new identity and global positioning that best represents the present day.
"The start of the Syrian war in In 2011 caused the largest refugee crisis in Europe since World War II; the Mediterranean has become a watery graveyard for countless immigrants; Brexit has shaken the very foundations of a Europe seemingly caught off-guard; and the extreme right has transformed from a political narrative into a reality for many countries.".
Christian Rovira – ESCI-UPF Director of Communication
WE ARE BLUE
In 2019 we implemented our first measures, after a pain staking analysis that consisted of interviews with hundreds of students, professors and the university’s communication team. One of our first decisions was to reclaim the colour blue, which has long been associated with the school from the outset. This was supported by a call to action tag line of ‘Make Earth Blue Again’, used at one of Spain’s largest educational fairs; the campaign was a resounding success and garnered attention from attendees and a noticeable increase in university placements. As part of the campaign we subverted one of the most far-reaching political messages in recent years that Donald Trump actually borrowed from Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign.
BELONG BECOME
A key requirement, which we immediately recognized as a necessity, was the university’s need of reinforce brand identity. This was, in part, due to the university offering contrasting studies, being located in an urban campus without shared common spaces, and timetables that did not encourage students from different disciplines to get to know each other.
We also discovered that after a quarter of a century we no longer live in a time when ‘everything’ needs doing (doers). From this moment forward, we could belong to an institution with an established history and utilise this knowledge base to become an asset to society, while incorporating the university’s unique formula where science, humanities and ethics studies are combined.
DO STUDENTS DREAM OF ELECTRIC WORK?
The new global context in which we found ourselves during the launch of the campaign, where an economic, social and ecological crisis were occurring at the same time, begged the important question: What will the role of the student be in the near future?
With artistic direction provided by Pol Solsona and photography by Kiwi Bravo, a series of sets were created, proposing answers that were considered to be equally as important to the question, alongside visual allegories for various study programs.
BORN IN '94
Living through the constantly evolving social media platform backdrop, caused by the generational shift from Millennials (Y) to Generation Z, we decided to opt for a multi level campaign in which announcements, landing pages, the official website, interactive informational materials and Social networks (especially Instagram) generate a vast information infrastructure for previously disconnected student audiences, who can now obtain what they need from multiple channels.
We also maintained a strong visual component and how the ESCI-UPF courses might respond to the needs of an increasingly uncertain present, in which innovation is playing a key role in the development of future professions.
BARCELONA'S DOWNTOWN
The new concept was also applied to the ESCI-UPF building, the nucleus of the faculty’s educational process, which extends through other campuses and online educational platforms. Leonardo García Mendez photographed the day-to-day activities of the university, providing visual support for the campaign material via a series of documentary photos and videos that can be viewed on the university’s Instagram profile.
KNOWLEDGE IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY
ESCI-UPF currently offers degrees in International Business and Marketing and Bioinformatics, as well as Masters program in International Trade, Digital Marketing and Retail, all of which make up an extensive educational program that responds to the challenges of the present day and the requisite for internationalization. ESCI-UPF curriculum is composed of various successive degrees that leads you from Belong to an institution to become a professional, and finally empowers you to lead yours ideas beyond the edge. 'Belong, become, beyond': an extraordinary training for a new breed of students that demands knowledge and flexibility in times of uncertainty.
ESCI–UPF
Belong Become
The Pompeu Fabra International Business School (ESCI-UPF) was founded in 1994 during a time of globalization and technological revolution. Its students were educated in multiple disciplines using syllabuses that were created throughout that period.
From its humble beginnings, with no official building or a certified qualification, it initially asked students to use their own laptops and modems to study (25% in English) in a Post-Olympic Barcelona.
The university celebrated its 20th anniversary in May 2014, at a time when Barack Obama had just started his second term as president, the United Nations were leading the fight against climate change and the economy appeared to be in recovery. It was then that ESCI launched the DOERS campaign, marking an important milestone in the business school’s identity, which continues until this day.
It is now 25 years since the university’s inception and we live in a very different world. With today’s global context in mind the ESCI-UPF asked LITW to create a new identity and global positioning that best represents the present day.
"The start of the Syrian conflict in 2011 has caused the largest humanitarian crisis in Europe since World War II. The Mediterranean Sea has become a mass grave, Brexit has shaken the foundations of Europe and the Far Right has become mainstream in many countries".
Christian Rovira – ESCI-UPF Director of Communication
WE ARE BLUE
In 2019 we implemented our first measures, after a pain staking analysis that consisted of interviews with hundreds of students, professors and the university’s communication team. One of our first decisions was to reclaim the colour blue, which has long been associated with the school from the outset. This was supported by a call to action tag line of ‘Make Earth Blue Again’, used at one of Spain’s largest educational fairs; the campaign was a resounding success and garnered attention from attendees and a noticeable increase in university placements. As part of the campaign we subverted one of the most far-reaching political messages in recent years that Donald Trump actually borrowed from Ronald Reagan’s 1980 presidential campaign.
BELONG BECOME
A key requirement, which we immediately recognized as a necessity, was the university’s need of reinforce brand identity. This was, in part, due to the university offering contrasting studies, being located in an urban campus without shared common spaces, and timetables that did not encourage students from different disciplines to get to know each other.
We also discovered that after a quarter of a century we no longer live in a time when ‘everything’ needs doing (doers). From this moment forward, we could belong to an institution with an established history and utilise this knowledge base to become an asset to society, while incorporating the university’s unique formula where science, humanities and ethics studies are combined.
DO STUDENTS DREAM OF ELECTRIC WORK?
The new global context in which we found ourselves during the launch of the campaign, where an economic, social and ecological crisis were occurring at the same time, begged the important question: What will the role of the student be in the near future?
With artistic direction provided by Pol Solsona and photography by Kiwi Bravo, a series of sets were created, proposing answers that were considered to be equally as important to the question, alongside visual allegories for various study programs.
BORN IN '94
Living through the constantly evolving social media platform backdrop, caused by the generational shift from Millennials (Y) to Generation Z, we decided to opt for a multi level campaign in which announcements, landing pages, the official website, interactive informational materials and Social networks (especially Instagram) generate a vast information infrastructure for previously disconnected student audiences, who can now obtain what they need from multiple channels.
We also maintained a strong visual component and how the ESCI-UPF courses might respond to the needs of an increasingly uncertain present, in which innovation is playing a key role in the development of future professions.
BARCELONA'S DOWNTOWN
The new concept was also applied to the ESCI-UPF building, the nucleus of the faculty’s educational process, which extends through other campuses and online educational platforms. Leonardo García Mendez photographed the day-to-day activities of the university, providing visual support for the campaign material via a series of documentary photos and videos that can be viewed on the university’s Instagram profile.
KNOWLEDGE IN TIMES OF UNCERTAINTY
ESCI-UPF currently offers degrees in International Business and Marketing and Bioinformatics, as well as Masters program in International Trade, Digital Marketing and Retail, all of which make up an extensive educational program that responds to the challenges of the present day and the requisite for internationalization. ESCI-UPF curriculum is composed of various successive degrees that leads you from Belong to an institution to become a professional, and finally empowers you to lead yours ideas beyond the edge. 'Belong, become, beyond’: an extraordinary training for a new breed of students that demands knowledge and flexibility in times of uncertainty.
