Behind Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University’s rebranding
Boutique design agency Creative Caterpillar explains how it went about changing the name and rebranding NMMU to Nelson Mandela University
Rebranding a university in an environment of protest over fees and exclusion is no easy task: the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) in Port Elizabeth has had to take a sensitive approach in changing its name to Nelson Mandela University. It wanted to recreate the university’s identity to reflect a "dynamic modern African institution". Albert Engelbrecht, CEO of Creative Caterpillar, a boutique Somerset West design agency responsible for the change, believes the Mandela image and name have been abused, overcommercialised and not properly monitored. The starting point, he says, was to re-establish what Nelson Mandela stood for. "To ensure freshness around the Mandela name and image we had to ensure it tied back to who he was and what he stood for, allowing the name to transcend him as a person, focusing on his legacy and what he believed in." He says the use of an emblem was not necessary. "Nelson Mandela didn’t need an emblem because the name itself is so strong and it sp...
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