Heythrop College, part of the University of London, was established in 1614.  The college provides undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in philosophy and theology.

Heythrop was going through a process of re-expressing the course offerings, to make them fit more closely with students. They tasked IE to build a new website to help communicate this to potential students and to redesign and re-imagine their brand.

Heythrop felt that their initial website was very text heavy, looked visually dated and failed to communicate the unique nature and history of the college. Furthermore, the layout of the site made it difficult for users to find the information that they were looking for, and the unresponsive nature of the site meant that browsing experience for students accessing from mobile devices was poor.

IE built a fresh website to communicate the special characteristics and history of the college. A visually striking layout helps to guide students on their journey around the website to information they require on the courses available.

Complimentary to IE’s digital work, we also completed a brand repositioning exercise to transform Heythrop from a conservative Catholic college of philosophy and theology, to a vibrant college of the University of London, attracting and shaping students to change the world.

IE reviewed Heythrop’s internal research summarising their top line brand, and concluded on a vision for the College’s idenitity. Our work has pushed Heythrop, and accelerated their brand in the direction they were already naturally travelling in.

From their initial research IE identified a set of key benefits and mitigators prospective students considered when looking at Heythrop. This included the London location; uniquely this was one of Heythrop’s biggest draws and biggest barrier.

IE’s refreshed brand communicated the cultural and international attraction of London, whilst also highlighting the student discounts, bursaries available and the accommodation outside of London, reassuring students for whom this would be a mitigator.

As part of our branding work, IE refreshed the Heythrop visual identity both on and off line. IE introduced new compelling images and messaging to bring the personality of the college to life.

In terms of visual identity, IE evolved Heythrop’s crest and changed the typography used to make the it more closely aligned to the University of London.

Check out the new site and visual identity for yourself - www.heythrop.ac.uk

Does your college or university need a fresh visual identity and mobile friendly website, to engage student users? Get in touch with our digital experts.