In the Spring of 2024, CSU Channel Islands began an 18-month visual rebranding for a new University logo and spirit mark, as well as a complete website redesign being led by higher education marketing consultants , and in partnership with Communication & Public Relations and Information Technology Services. A projected launch for the visual rebranding is planned for August 2025. A website redesign focused on prospective students is planned to launch in November 2025. These two strategic and vital projects are part of the University’s Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) plan and are being funded by Foundation donor funds.
Brand perception surveys were conducted during 2022-2023 prior to the start of the visual rebranding and website redesign during 2024 to help inform the strategic direction for both of these projects. The brand perception surveys were completed by .
The website redesign project began in 2023 and included completion of several website audits. Simpson Scarborough continues progress on the website redesign including design work to be completed from the visual rebranding to inform the website's future brand appearance.
As part of the visual rebranding project that started in Spring 2024, participation and feedback has been received from over 100+ individuals representing various campus leadership groups including the Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Steering Committee and the IMC Advisory Group. Progress has included completion of the discovery phase and continued work since summer 2024 on the design phase for a new University logo and spirit mark, as well as brand creative concepts. Progress continues with development of the University's new visual and verbal brand message and creative brand design assets.
Visual Rebranding Purpose
Develop a visual identity that accurately reflects our brand; increases student enrollment; highlights academic programs and student post-graduate outcomes; improves within the internal and external community the University’s reputation and brand awareness; and improves communication with all audiences via various communication tools, e.g. website and marketing collateral, social media, videos, etc.
Visual Rebranding Components
1. Brand Identity: develop a new visual brand identity through a new and cohesive logo family and system comprising a new University Formal Logo and a campus Spirit Logo (mascot). This also includes developing a sub-branding system and logo treatments for schools/colleges, divisions, centers, and programs; developing brand guidelines; and developing and implementing a stakeholder buy-in strategy plan.
2. Brand Look & Feel: translate the brand identity into a visual representation of the overall brand. This visual representation should be a cohesive expression of the brand foundation strategy – a look/feel/tone for all executions representing the institution that is flexible enough for a range of audiences, including current students, faculty and staff, alumni and donors, prospective students (including adult learners), and parents and families of current students and prospective students, and
3. Website Look & Feel: develop a visual website design for a look/feel/tone that aligns with the brand strategy, digital strategy recommendations, audience needs, and the University’s objectives and content strategy, as well as development of website brand guidelines.
4. Branding & Advertising Campaign: create plans and tools to roll out the brand to internal and external audiences including co-developing and implementing a branding campaign strategy plan, campaign creative briefs, campaign concepts with taglines, and delivering several creative assets to support the selected campaign and brand.
5. Creative Assets: develop creative assets for general internal and external communication that align with the University’s brand foundation strategy including videos, stationery, a campus brochure, student recruitment viewbooks and display banners, mascot illustrations, an iconography system, social media profile images, campus light pole banner designs, and templates for various uses.
IMC Steering Committee
The Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Steering Committee is established to ensure cohesive, strategic, and effective communication across all channels that aligns with the University’s mission, vision, and goals. This committee will oversee and guide the visual rebranding, integration of marketing communication across various platforms and departments, enhancing the University’s goals in recruitment, reputation, and brand consistency.
Members:
- Nancy Covarrubias Gill, Associate Vice President for Communication & Public Relations (Office of the President)
- Veronica Guerrero, Associate Vice President for High Impact Practices & Experiential Education (Academic Affairs)
- Michelle Hasendonckx, Assistant Vice President for Student Academic Success & Equity Initiatives (Academic Affairs)
- Doreen Hatcher, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs (Student Affairs)
- Richard LeRoy, Vice President for University Advancement (University Advancement)
- Luke Matjas, Professor of Art (Academic Affairs)
- Joanna Murphy, Director of Communication Design (Office of the President)
- Ekin Pehlivan, Professor of Marketing (Academic Affairs), President's Faculty Fellow
- Jennifer Perry, Executive Director of Regional Educational Partnerships (Office of the President)
- MariaElena Plaza, Associate Vice President for Human Resources (Business & Financial Affairs)
- Asha Ramachandra, Director of IT Strategy (Business & Financial Affairs)
- Director of Enrollment Management Marketing & Communication (Office of the President)
IMC Advisory Group
The Integrated Marketing Communication (IMC) Advisory Group serves as a consultative body to support and provide guidance on the University’s integrated marketing and communication strategies including the visual rebranding. This advisory group will bring diverse insights and perspectives to help shape cohesive, impactful, and brand-aligned messaging that supports the University's goals in recruitment, reputation, and brand consistency.
- Helen Alatorre, ASI Executive Director (Student Affairs)
- Susan Andrzejewski, Dean for the MVS School of Business & Economics (Academic Affairs)
- Jim August, Chief Information Officer and Associate Vice President for Information Technology Services (Business & Financial Affairs)
- Daniel Banyai, Extended University Director of Enrollment, Marketing & Workforce Development (Academic Affairs)
- Spencer Clark, Interim Dean for the School of Arts & Sciences (Academic Affairs)
- Toni DeBoni, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management (Office of the President)
- Tom Emens, Multimedia Coordinator (Student Affairs)
- Andrew Fox, Student Government President (ASI)
- Phil Hampton, Interim Dean for the School of Arts & Sciences (Academic Affairs)
- Julia Heck, Associate Vice President for Student Life & Support Programs/Dean of Students (Student Affairs)
- Pearce Harris, Student Government Vice President (ASI)
- Bambi Hosaka, Coordinator of Alumni Engagement (University Advancement)
- Jill Leafstedt, Dean for Extended University and Associate Vice President for Digital Learning (Academic Affairs)
- Pilar Pacheco, Director of the Center for Community Engagement (Academic Affairs)
- Dottie Patten, Associate Vice President for Operational Effectiveness and Special Assistant to the President (Office of the President)
- Rebecca Slocum, Staff Council Chair, Academic Scheduling Analyst (Academic Affairs)
- Christina Smith, Academic Senate Chair, Professor of Communication (Academic Affairs)
Campus Leadership
Representatives who have participated and provided ongoing input and feedback for the Visual Rebranding:
- Academic Senate Executive Committee
- Academic Program Chairs
- Alumni & Friends Board of Directors
- CI Solutions (business and marketing students)
- Staff Council (staff representatives from across campus)
- Communication & Public Relations team
- Enrollment Management leadership team
- HRE Resident Assistants
- President’s Cabinet
- President’s Chumash Advisory Council
- Student Government leadership
- Student Marketing Center (student assistants from Student Affairs)
- University Advancement team
Website Redesign Purpose
Provide a forward-looking digital strategy and web presence that will enhance the University's profile while embodying industry-leading standards in design, content strategy, user experience, accessibility, usability, and technical execution.
Website Redesign Components
1. Discovery, Strategy, User Experience, and Information Architecture: project discovery and research, deep dive into Google Analytics for current website to inform redesign project, review provided rebranding web site audit documents; web strategy brief, including development of website personas; web creative brief; proposed information architecture, user experience and content strategy; review of current website governance, site management and staffing and provide recommendations for changes for current website governance, management, and support; address how a code repository, development and staging site and production website workflow will be used for maintaining and tracking changes to the website’s codebase; and post website launch support, maintenance, and ongoing development proposal.
2. Design and build: propose a process for automating/streamlining content migration; design rendering for page layouts- homepage, audience gateways, department landing, lower-level news landing page, news center page, new student onboarding landing page, news index, search index/results, academic programs listing page, academic programs landing page, campus calendar landing page, academic course listing page, campus directory, campus calendar events page, social media integration. Information design – analysis of navigation and site architecture on User Experience. Propose efficient, effective navigation for the website and for the mobile devices; accessible design – analysis of level of accessibility of design, identification of standards used to evaluate accessibility, identification of methods used to evaluate accessibility; native integration of APIs (social channels, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social channels); assistance with the development of CMS editorial workflow, approval workflows and site permissions; site style guide including pattern library, typography, various column layouts and cover all design style options; redesign the »ªÌå»á News Center and technical implementation; and transition framework of the important pages into Spanish.
3. Website Hosting: specify and provide recommendations, including content delivery network (CDN) technical setup, storage, RAM, sFTP, etc.
4. Lead generation and Life Cycle communications (CRM integration): withlead generation as a critical function of the website, it must integrate with key lead generation technologies like Slate, Razors Edge, EAB.
5. Search Engine Optimization: website must be built with SEO best practices in place, SEO friendly URLs, page titles, description H-tags, and semantics markup etc. CMS backend needs to make SEO easy for content editors by requiring fields important to SEO are completed.
6. Redirect Strategy: comprehensive 301 redirect strategy included and ability to manage all 302 and 301 URL redirects through a single website redirect module. This includes the ability to redirect documents to webpages and other documents.
7. Website Governance: review of current website governance, site management, and staffing and provide recommendations for changes and workflow integrations.
8. Training: provide training documents for content editors.
9. Translation: translate top-level website pages into Spanish.
10. Separation of internal content and public content: conduct acontent strategy and migration with separate considerations for both the intranet and the public website content. Intranet creation will be included in Phase II of the web redesign.
Website Redesign Steering & Governance Committee
The Website Redesign Steering & Governance Committee provides guidance and key decisions for the website redesign ensuring it aligns with the University’s goals for recruitment, engagement, and content strategy for brand consistency and ongoing content maintenance.
- Jim August, Chief Information Officer and Associate Vice President for Information Technology Services (Business & Financial Affairs)
- Daniel Banyai, Extended University Director of Enrollment, Marketing & Workforce Development (Academic Affairs)
- Michelle Dean, Associate Professor of Education (Academic Affairs)
- Tom Emens, Multimedia Coordinator (Student Affairs)
- Scott Feister, Professor of Computer Science (Academic Affairs)
- Andrew Fox, Student Government President (ASI)
- Ryan Garcia, Senior User Experience Designer (Business & Financial Affairs)
- Nancy Covarrubias Gill, Associate Vice President for Communication & Public Relations (Office of the President)
- Pearce Harris, Student Government Vice President (ASI)
- Linda Jordan, Donor Relations & Stewardship Specialist (University Advancement)
- Liz King, Professor of Art (Academic Affairs)
- Daniel Martinez, Web Services Supervisor (Business & Financial Affairs)
- Asha Ramachandra, Director of IT Strategy (Business & Financial Affairs)
- Kristin Steiner, Director of University Communication (Office of the President)
- Roxana Tunc, Director of Enrollment Initiatives, Non-Resident & Graduate Admissions & Recruitment (Office of the President)
- Director of Enrollment Management Marketing & Communication (Office of the President)