Toolkit

Experiential

Our environment sets the stage for creative expression of our ideas

A brand experience goes far beyond words on a page — it’s an experience people have with us in real life. In other words, our physical environment helps create a perception of who we are as an organization.

To help shape this experience, our external signage and environmental graphics should create a consistent UBC presence recognizable for its colour, thoughtful design and professional appearance. Whether it's wayfinding for a graduation, posters for a 1,000-seat outdoor feast or signage for a music event, the physical environment should also be treated with the same diligence and respect as any other brand media.

Experiential marketing gives us an opportunity to leverage the natural beauty of our campus environments to enhance strategic messaging, achieve business priorities and deepen the joy that students, staff, faculty and visitors feel when they experience and explore UBC Vancouver or Okanagan campuses.

At UBC, signage and environmental graphics are used as a storytelling medium to ignite a feeling of community spirit and remind us that we all have the potential to shape the future.


Key Considerations

Key Considerations for Experiential Design

1
Are you using the environment in a creative way?

Does it inspire, tell a story or encourage interaction? Will it activate new thinking?


2
Is it instantly recognizable as a UBC event or experience?

Have you incorporated UBC colours, language and tone into the design?


3
Does your design adhere to UBC’s visual identity standards?

Use official visual identity at all times on physical objects, in projections, on banners or other media. Refer to our Brand Identity Rules for how to incorporate our identity into your experiential design.

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4
Is it sustainable?

Have you sourced the most sustainable products possible and ensured that your event, design or product aligns with UBC’s sustainability values and goals? (Please review our sustainability commitment if you haven’t already.)


5
Is it legible, readable and understandable to a wide range of users?

UBC is an inclusive place that considers the needs of all of our stakeholders in our experiential designs. Accessibility is a priority when it comes environmental graphics, wayfinding, and signage.

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Project Planning Tips

Project Planning Tips

Make the most out of your project. Here are some strategies that we think will help you.

Before
  1. Before creating any signage, graphic or exterior experience meant for marketing use on UBC campuses, please ensure you have read the UBC brand visual identity standards.
  2. Create a strategy and write a creative brief that communicates your idea most effectively and engages your chosen audience. Think about how to use the physical environment to help meet your communication goals and activate your target audience to think or behave differently as a result of your experiential communications.
  3. Ensure you touch base with Brand and Marketing and Campus and Community Planning before embarking on any exterior graphic design, signage or physical structures that could alter the campus environment in any way.
During
  1. Ensure your experiential signage, prop or event will not impede foot or vehicle traffic in any way.
  2. If possible, capture your experiential event through photography and video to reuse as ‘evergreen content’ in the future.
  3. Encourage participants to take photos and share them; after all, you want your message to reach people and create a positive effect online as well.
After
  1. Efficiently and appropriately strike the set, signage, conference set-up, banners or decals after the event. Adhere to UBC sustainability guidelines and recycle and or reuse any equipment or materials as necessary.
  2. Measure your success. By using experiential marketing in the UBC environment, did you achieve what you set out to do?

Downloads

Downloads

Campus Banners Internal Protocol and Checklist

Campus pole banners can play an important role in animating people at the university. Due to their limited supply, a protocol has been created to govern access to the pole banner inventory.


UBC Wayfinding Signage Standards and Guidelines

This guide will assist you with the creation and installation of wayfinding and signage systems on UBC’s campuses. Please email carmen.rida@ubc.ca for the most recent guidelines.