One anniversary.
A university-wide
visual identity.
Constructor University in Bremen, formerly Jacobs University, marks 25 years since its first students arrived. We created one anniversary identity for campus graphics, merchandise and alumni events — visible across the university without becoming a competing second brand.
- CLIENT
- Constructor University · Bremen, Germany
- OCCASION
- 25th anniversary · 2026
- OUR WORK
- Anniversary identity, illustration, merchandise and event design
Finding an anniversary mark.
Not a replacement logo.
We explored wordmarks, academic badges and heraldic emblems, looking for a mark that could travel from a lapel pin to a sign across campus.
How much can
one number do?
One route kept the full university name and added 25. Another compressed the message into C, U and a number. The first is immediately clear; the second is compact, but asks the audience to decode more.
That became a useful test for the whole project: can you read the anniversary before you have to work out the design?
A strong emblem.
But a lot to carry.
Shields, diamonds and engraved lines give the anniversary a ceremonial character. They work particularly well as objects: a badge, a flag, a pin. The trade-off is detail. Fine lines get lost at small sizes, while a crest beside the university logo can feel like another institution’s badge. We needed something less self-contained.
Less emblem.
More room for the university.
Putting the directions side by side made the choice easier to see. The ornate options carry a whole visual world of their own. The simpler typographic combinations leave room for the university’s name, photography and message. That was the better fit for an identity with so many different jobs.
A university
anniversary logo
built to scale.
The chosen direction brings the university and its anniversary together through typography. It can sit beside the full name or become a compact mark when space is tight.
From a notebook to a stage, the job stays the same: make 25 visible, keep the university recognisable. The hierarchy adapts to the format without competing with the existing logo.
An anniversary edition of the brand, not a second brand for a single year.
University brand
illustrations.
Duck included.
The logo marks the occasion. The illustrations tell the more personal story: the Bremen Town Musicians, a friendly “Moin”, campus landmarks, science and Joana the duck.
We turned these references into a geometric illustration kit. Individual characters, repeating patterns and larger compositions give each application its own personality without losing the shared visual language.
The same toolkit, arranged for narrow formats: campus, science and Bremen’s history.
One character.
Or a whole campus.
A duck can become a pattern. Scientific symbols can fill a panel. The whole set can grow into a scene. The artwork adapts to the space, rather than repeating the same picture on every surface.
University merch
made to be used.
And worn.
Tote bags, socks, notebooks and winter hats take the university beyond campus. We designed a collection with different levels of expression: a quiet wordmark on one item, a full illustrated scene on another.
The wider merchandise project sits alongside the anniversary identity. The university store is now live, so students, alumni and supporters can find the collection beyond the events themselves.
Visit the university store ↗
Alumni Homecoming
event identity.
Milestones in Motion.
Alumni Homecoming needed its own moment within the anniversary year. “Milestones in Motion” was the event theme: the journeys, decisions and experiences that connect individual graduates to a shared twenty-five-year story.
Working from the Homecoming committee’s direction, we brought a road, a car, stars and architectural forms into the same illustrated scene. It looks ahead while making room for the idea of looking back — a fitting combination for returning to university.
The visual then had to do useful work. Posters invite people in. Wayfinding helps them get around. A gala programme guides the evening. Different jobs, but recognisably the same event, and still part of the university’s anniversary.
From campus signs
to the gala stage.
The real test was consistency across different settings. The result combines a typographic anniversary mark, an illustration kit and designs for merchandise, campus communications and events.
A formal stage can be restrained. A tote can be full of colour. They still belong to the same university, celebrating the same milestone. That is what a useful visual identity should do: hold together without making everything look identical.
Branding for universities.
From the first logo
to the last tote bag.