{"id":2232,"date":"2021-02-04T11:31:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T10:31:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uantwerpen.be\/pintra-en\/?p=2232"},"modified":"2026-04-20T09:14:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T08:14:44","slug":"new-house-style-reflects-our-values","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uantwerpen.be\/pintra-en\/new-house-style-reflects-our-values\/","title":{"rendered":"New house style reflects our values"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u2018Impact on the world, connection, innovation and quality: these are our core values and we want to shine an extra spotlight on them\u2019, says Rector Herman Van Goethem. This sharper focus also serves as the foundation for the new house style. A double interview with the rector and Elisabeth Vanhoutte, head of the Communications Department.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our university regularly commissions brand recognition surveys. The last survey in 2019 showed that we are not doing badly at all compared to other universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Herman Van Goethem: \u2018Still, our profile could be stronger. We are a strong brand, but the important thing is to market ourselves that way.\u2019  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elisabeth Vanhoutte: \u2018If we want to grow, we have to do so from a clearly defined position, and decide exactly which values we want to represent us. Otherwise, the picture is less clear. But for an organisation that is actually characterised by a diversity of viewpoints, that\u2019s no simple task.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why a positioning exercise was carried out last year. What did that involve?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Van Goethem: \u2018We partnered with Reputations, a market research agency that specialises in education. After a number of sessions with myself and my policy team, a survey was conducted among our staff, researchers, students, alumni and external stakeholders, such as Antwerp city council, UZA and the port. Just under 8700 people completed the questionnaire.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vanhoutte: \u2018That\u2019s how we ended up with dozens of values associated with our university, ranging from our international character to the fact that we have a close relationship with our students. In the end, we narrowed it down to four core values: impact on the world, connection, innovation and quality. These are values that are deeply embodied in our policy vision and which also have potential if we want to stand out more.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is there one value that stands out for you?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Vanhoutte: \u2018Most important of all is our desire to have an impact on the world, our ambition as a university to improve society in a sustainable way. That’s why we get out of bed in the morning, so to speak.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Van Goethem: \u2018That\u2019s what really drives us, even more so than at other universities. Projects like the Big Corona Study and CurieuzeNeuzen make that clear. We encourage our researchers and students to look critically at societal issues and to take their place in the public sphere. Market research confirms that our university is closely associated with that.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The four core values also formed the basis for the new house style. \u2018It’s been a challenging balancing act’, knows Elisabeth Vanhoutte. ‘On the one hand, you want to present an accurate and recognisable identity, while on the other hand, you want to provide space for the richness and diversity that characterise a university. For me, that was really the essence of the project.’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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What exactly is meant by connection?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Van Goethem: \u2018Connection is crucial for a university located in a city with metropolitan characteristics. In fact, we are the lab of the metropolis. We can respond to the needs of the region and drive innovation. But inside our university, too, we want to connect and encourage cooperation among faculties. This translates into interdisciplinary programmes, such as our Think Water Advanced Master programme and the Master in Safety Sciences. And then there\u2019s connection with other universities, including through YUFE (Young Universities for the Future of Europe) and the Lifelong Learning project with Ghent University and the VUB.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quality is also an important pillar. <\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Van Goethem: \u2018Yes, we score very high in terms of both research and teaching. In the international rankings we are now in the top 200. We are a leading university in numerous research domains: vaccine research, sustainable chemistry, management, social equality… One of our great strengths in terms of education is that we\u2019ve managed to retain the rather small-scale approach we had before the merger. There\u2019s no big gap between our professors and their students.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2018Rather than a shift or change I would say a sharper focus. These values have long been central to our organisation, as projects like CurieuzeNeuzen illustrate. It\u2019s now a question of translating these four values for different target groups, such as students and researchers.’<\/p>Elisabeth Vanhoutte, head of the Communications Department<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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The fourth core value you chose was innovation. Why? <\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Van Goethem: \u2018Innovation is a very high priority for us as a university, with pioneering projects such as Vaccinopolis, which is now under construction, and the Shavatar and Medimundi spin-offs launched last year, to name but a few. Breaking down barriers is crucial. By sitting down with companies, entrepreneurs and policymakers, our researchers often arrive at multidisciplinary solutions to problems. A good example of such a collaboration is The Beacon, a hub for developing Internet of Things solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018innovation\u2019 value and our ambition to change the world leads us to adopt a creative approach, ‘original thinking and doing\u2019, in our communication \u2013 a daring approach, so to speak. It suits us perfectly. We have a professor of animal rights, we offer an optional course on climate change, we use sheep to keep the grass short at Campus Drie Eiken\u2026\u2019 (laughs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vanhoutte: \u2018Only by challenging the status quo and by being original can you shape the future. That idea is deeply embedded in our recruitment campaign for prospective students, and we want to make it central to our communication for other audiences as well.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To what extent does all this mean a change? Or is it more of a shift?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Vanhoutte: \u2018Rather than a shift or change I would say a sharper focus. These values have long been central to our organisation, as projects like CurieuzeNeuzen illustrate. It\u2019s now a question of translating these four values for different target groups, such as students and researchers. What kind of communication can we use to bring that message to them in a credible way? We also want to look at how everyone in our organisation can help embody those core values, and how we can support them in that. We are very much looking forward to working that out with the HR Department.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Have an impact on the world is the most important core value of UAntwerp. \u2018That\u2019s what really drives us, even more so than at other universities’, tells rector Herman Van Goethem. ‘We encourage our researchers and students to look critically at societal issues and to take their place in the public sphere. Market research confirms that our university is closely associated with that.\u2019<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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The four core values also formed the basis for the new house style. Why the update?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Vanhoutte: \u2018A change was urgently needed because the old logo was no longer compatible with the new website. An agency redesigned the UAntwerp logo for us, but for the rest of the house style we decided to take matters into our own hands with the help of a freelance brand strategist. After all, for a complex institution such as ours, it\u2019s not easy to create a unified house style that projects the desired message while also being workable for everyone. It\u2019s only possible if you have both feet firmly planted in the organisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, it\u2019s more of a sharpening than a real change. There\u2019s been a shift in the colour palette. We kept the blue and white but gave the dark red an update. Blue used to be the dominant colour, a colour we mainly associate with certainty, and which doesn\u2019t stand out from the crowd that much. But now the emphasis has shifted slightly towards red: this colour represents innovation and purposefulness. Rounded corners have been introduced, to evoke openness and connection.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What other characteristics did the new house style have to have?<\/strong><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Vanhoutte: \u2018Above all, we wanted a scalable architecture that is easily recognisable right down to the smallest thumbnails in your browser window. Digital first. The house style also had to be tailored to a multi-faceted organisation like our university. We\u2019re a set of communities, with different departments, institutes, faculties and research groups. We want all those communities to be able to keep their own distinct voices, at least if they\u2019re speaking to their own communities. That also means each community can use its own logo, as long as it follows the university house style. We designed a logo for each faculty with its own colour. When the communication goes beyond the community, the university logo is used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There also had to be enough flexibility. That\u2019s why we\u2019ve opted for a framework that\u2019s simple enough and user-friendly enough for everyone, while also leaving enough room for nuance. We\u2019re providing a whole range of templates that anyone can easily get started with, as well as a clear guide.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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