An Impact Identity for industry partnership & investment
Context
The University of Bristol is a powerhouse for research commercialisation. It’s ranked 6th in the UK for spin-out formation and 1st for return on investment. With notable successes like Ziylo, Graphcore, Ultraleap and Albotherm paving the way for the future, the University is aiming to attract over £500m investment for its ventures over the next 5 years.
Objective
The University’s commercialisation capabilities are present in the likes of its Engine Shed enterprise hub, professional services research enterprise division, and sector-specialist centres for incubation like QTIC and Science Creates. But to give innovation a single-point of focus for an external audience of industry partners and public bodies, a new Bristol Innovations team has come into being.
To give the new team the best chance of generating new investment opportunities, Bristol Innovations needed a distinct identity and a consistent way of talking about itself that made sense to multiple stakeholders. One that gave enough of a framework to bring clarity and focus, while providing the flexibility required of an initiative still forming and evolving in remit.
Approach
Firehaus developed a logo, visual style and strapline for the Bristol Innovations brand through an iterative design process that saw us move from brief to final logo in a matter of days, providing a visual point of focus for conversations between the Vice Chancellor, industry and civic organisations.
Through a series of workshops we then developed a positioning statement that articulated the vision and mission for Bristol Innovations in a few simple sentences, framed in terms of audience outcomes. This brought clarity and order to the structure, delineation and relationship between Bristol Innovations and existing commercialisation services.
What’s next
With the Bristol Innovations team up and running, supported by a distinct identity and cohesive way of presenting itself, the University is at the start of an exciting new phase in its journey to generating even greater impact from its research.
Steve Edwards, University of Bristol Enterprise Services, said “Thanks to Firehaus, we have a new way of showcasing and championing the University’s incredible innovation impact. They worked closely with us, understood our time restraints and operated flexibly to deliver a solution in record time.”
