Choosing change: Haskayne launches a new visual identity

They say the only constant in life is change, and at the Haskayne School of Business this is no exception. From the opening of its spectacular new building, Mathison Hall, which more than doubled its capacity, to the full return of in-person classes and the introduction of new degree programs, courses and experiential learning opportunities, Haskayne has experienced plenty of change lately.

Today marks another milestone in the school’s history with the launch of its new visual identity.

A place for transformative change

Working in close partnership with UCalgary’s Office of Advancement and Brand Experience team, Haskayne’s new visual identity embraces a modern typeface and vibrant colours, while still upholding strong visual connections to the UCalgary brand by leveraging its existing brand colour palette and introducing new logo lockup options. The brand colours of gold, dark orange and teal maintain the symbolic nature of UCalgary’s entrepreneurial spirit, passion and determination.

Haskayne’s new bold, modern typeface and the coloured pinnacle of the “H” in its new logo reflects growth, mentorship and the connection between today and the future. It’s not only intended for a strong visual impact — it tells a bigger story. The “H” illustrates the transformation of a lowercase “h” into an uppercase one, signifying how Haskayne empowers students to transform themselves and the world around them — a concept strongly conveyed in Haskayne’s new brand video.

“Now is the perfect time to evolve our brand. We have a state-of-the-art building that lends itself to a more dynamic learning experience, demand for our programs is strong, and we’re determined to reach our goal of achieving top-tier business school status by 2025,” says Haskayne Dean Jim Dewald. “To date, the response to our new visual identity has been remarkably positive.

Our community is full of change-makers, bold leaders, and education champions who willingly embrace change and see this evolution in our school’s history as an opportunity to build on our reputation.

“Calgary is evolving, and the business world is changing at an accelerated pace. Haskayne needs to lead the way by attracting the best and brightest, equipping our students with the skills required of today’s workforce and cultivating an educational experience rooted in entrepreneurship and innovation to solve the business problems of tomorrow.”

Looking to the future

Over the course of the past few months the Haskayne marketing and communications team has hosted several internal presentations with key groups, and formally introduced the new visual identity at an all-staff/faculty celebratory sneak-a-peek event on April 17. The event welcomed Haskayne alumni Jane Zhang, BComm’12, MBA’16, DBA’26, and Kenya Rasmussen, BComm’19, who spoke to the transformative change they experienced on both a personal and professional level during their time at Haskayne.

Attendees also participated in collaborative activities that inspired them to reflect on the transformative change they’re seeing at Haskayne and their reasons for choosing Haskayne — insights which will be used to inform future marketing and communications tactics.

Haskayne’s new visual identity launches publicly today alongside its new marketing campaign, Choose Change, which consists of a robust advertising campaign including billboards and television, radio and digital ads, a new brand video and a series of updated social media content and assets.

“Our students come to Haskayne because they are actively seeking change,” says Dewald. “Whether that’s a change in their career, a change in their knowledge base or skill set or a change in their thinking and perspective — the personal reasons may all differ, but the one underlying commonality is the yearning for change.

"Our Choose Change campaign was created to speak to that innate desire that exists within all of our students — and truly showcase how Haskayne creates the environment for transformative change.”

The new visual identity was created by Evans Hunt who worked with Haskayne’s Marketing and Communications team. It was approved by the university after providing a strong business case and rationale for an exemption to the current visual guidelines.

 Learn more about Haskayne’s new visual identity and Choose Change campaign.