Illinois Wesleyan University

What happens when a university with 175 years of history looks toward its next chapter? For Illinois Wesleyan University, the opportunity wasn't to become something different. It was to more clearly express what has always made the institution special, then bring that story to life for a new generation.

Rule29 partnered with IWU in Bloomington, Illinois, to evolve its brand strategy, visual identity, messaging, and creative communications. Together, we built a cohesive brand platform that honors the university's history while creating new opportunities to connect with students, alumni, faculty, donors, and the broader community. The result is more than a refreshed identity. It's a shared story and a practical system designed to help the university move forward with clarity, consistency, and purpose.

Industry

Education

Capabilities

Strategy Branding Websites Digital and Social Print Video and Motion

Services Provided

Brand Audit, Interviews, and Competitive Analysis
Brand Story and Messaging Strategy
Campaign Strategy, Logo Design, and Brand Identity
Brand Identity and Identity Management
Brand Guidelines
B2C Website Design
UX and UI Development
Landing Pages
Social Media Marketing
Content Creation
HTML Emails
Brochures and Sales Collateral
Direct Mail and Invitations
Posters
Photography
Live Action Video
Animation and Motion Graphics
Commercials
Script Development and Voice Over

Project Overview

Challenges

Illinois Wesleyan has a rich academic history, a close-knit community, and a real commitment to student success, but it struggled to communicate its full value.
Over time, departments had developed their own logos, type, colors, photography, and messaging, so the university rarely looked or sounded like one place.
The challenge was to unify the brand without losing IWU’s character, in a way that works across admissions, academics, athletics, advancement, alumni relations, and everyday communications.

Solutions

The strongest university brands are built on what students can become, not just on academic programs or campus life.
Through discovery, strategy, and messaging, Rule29 built a foundation that connects IWU’s values with what its audiences hope to achieve.
At the center is one idea, “Do well. Do good. Become more.”: a promise of achievement, purpose, and growth that carries well beyond graduation.

Results

IWU now has a unified visual identity, stronger messaging, and an online Brand Hub, so every department can tell the same story consistently.
The work laid the creative foundation for Honor the Past, Shape the Future, IWU’s $200 million campaign, from its identity and storytelling to its digital experiences and video.
It’s a practical system built to strengthen connections and inspire the next generation of Titans.

More Than an Education. A Foundation for Life.

For generations, Illinois Wesleyan University has helped students discover who they are and who they can become. Our challenge was to help the university tell that story in a way that felt authentic, relevant, and distinctly IWU.

We developed a brand approach that celebrates academic excellence while recognizing that education is about more than what happens in the classroom. It's about experiences that challenge us, relationships that shape us, and opportunities to make a difference. The result is a stronger connection between the university's purpose and the people who bring it to life.

A Brand Built to Become More.™

Three simple words. A powerful invitation. Do Well. Do Good. Become More.™ captures what makes Illinois Wesleyan University special. It's a promise that students can pursue academic success, discover their passions, and develop the skills and character to contribute to the world around them. The message became the foundation for a refreshed brand experience, connecting strategy, storytelling, and design around one clear idea: At IWU, education is about becoming more than you imagined possible.

The new creative system builds on the university's recognizable green and historic identity while introducing a more expressive visual language. Confident typography, an expanded color palette, adaptable graphic elements, and authentic photography give the brand energy and flexibility without losing what makes it familiar. Together, these elements create a visual identity that feels proud of its past and ready for its future.

Everyday Pride, Lasting Connection

We extended the new identity across everyday touchpoints, from water bottles and apparel to bags and campus merchandise. Each application demonstrates the flexibility of the visual system while building recognition and school pride.

It's more than putting a logo on something. It's giving students, faculty, and alumni another way to feel connected to Illinois Wesleyan University.

Every Message. More Meaning.

The campaign keeps IWU’s greens and adds gold to stand for heritage, generosity, and warmth. A repeating flame pattern adds texture behind the content, from donor print to the microsite. Metallic foil is saved for the most meaningful moments, like donor recognition.

IWU social post with the text Success Matters

IWU social post with the text Become More

IWU social post with the text "Education should shape more than a career"

Rule29 is everything you want in a partnership to help refresh and update your brand.

They took the time to do their homework, talking to team members, evaluating current assets, distilling the brand's essence into an actionable expression, and bringing it to life across multiple platforms. In the process, they balance technology and strategic creativity to elevate our brand and make us distinctive.

Mark D. Gibson, MBA, Ph.D.

Chief Marketing Communications and Branding Officer, Illinois Wesleyan University

Stories That Move People.

Some stories are best experienced rather than explained. Video and motion bring the Illinois Wesleyan University brand to life through the people, places, and moments that make the university meaningful. From student experiences to important university milestones, these stories make the brand personal. They show the impact of education through real people and authentic experiences. It's another way to connect the university's proud history with its ongoing commitment to helping students become more.

A Legacy Made Real: The Opening of the Petrick Center at Illinois Wesleyan

03:28

Honor the Past, Shape the Future.

Illinois Wesleyan University set out on the most ambitious fundraising effort in its 175-year history: a $200 million campaign for student success, faculty excellence, and campus community. The campaign needed an identity that alumni would recognize as IWU while still giving them a reason to look ahead.

We built the identity around a campaign seal that draws on the university’s heritage and sits comfortably beside IWU’s core brand. A color and type system grew out of it, along with a photography approach that pairs archival images with students today. Together they give every piece the same voice.

The system now runs across the campaign microsite, a donor brochure, white papers, and stationery. It lays out three priorities and 12 named funds clearly enough that a donor can see where a gift goes before the first conversation. The result is a campaign that looks like Illinois Wesleyan and moves people to give.

From Hearts Aflame

The campaign mark takes its cue from IWU’s alma mater, “From hearts aflame our love we pledge to thee.” We drew the flame from the university’s own letterforms, with organic curves that hint at a heart. It comes in seven formats, from full lockups to a social avatar, plus a gold pattern for print, digital, and donor recognition.

From hearts aflame our love we pledge to thee.

Honor the Past, Shape the Future represents more than a fundraising initiative. It is an invitation to invest in the future of IWU and in the generations of students whose lives will be shaped here.

IWU campaign brochure spread and cover on a gold pattern featuring the flame pattern

Working with Rule29 on our capital campaign digital and print materials has been an outstanding experience.

Their team brought exceptional creativity and strategic expertise to both the visual storytelling and content development. Our leadership team was blown away by their ability to transform complex ideas into compelling stories that resonate deeply with our donors. They truly understand how to capture the spirit of IWU, and their incredible work will no doubt ensure the success of this campaign.

Valerie Hawkins

Assistant Vice President for Advancement, Campaign Strategy and Donor Engagement, Illinois Wesleyan University

Unmistakably IWU, with gold added for the moments that matter.

IWU students touching the iconic pineapple statue on campus

Past and Present, Side by Side

The photography pairs IWU’s archive with campus life today: alumni beside students, tradition beside innovation, donors beside the impact they make. Every historic image connects to a person, place, or opportunity at IWU now, so the campaign shows continuity rather than nostalgia.

Man looking at the IWU campaign website on a laptop

Woman looking at the IWU campaign website on a phone

Built to Keep Going

A campaign runs for years, so the identity had to work without us in the room. The full system lives in its own section of IWU’s Brand Hub: every logo format and colorway, the flame pattern, color roles, and photo direction, all ready to download. Advancement, marketing, and event teams can make on-brand pieces themselves, and every one carries the same message: Making More Possible.