Erasmus Career Café | Logo, Visual Identity & Social Media Templates
Erasmus University Rotterdam approached me to rebrand their Career Café, transitioning from the old name “Lighthouse Career Café”, and self-made visuals to a more professional, cohesive identity that would elevate the promotion of their events.
Erasmus Career Café is a series of forums organised by the Alumni Department at Erasmus University Rotterdam aimed at bridging the gap between student life and the professional world. The goal of these events is to help students connect, network, and humanise career conversations by offering a safe space where alumni have the chance to give back by sharing their journeys—how they discovered their "why," what motivates them, and the lessons they've learned along the way. In turn, students are inspired to reflect on their own paths and gain valuable insights into the professional world.
The events are promoted via social media and LinkedIn, using a custom-designed feed and template.
The goal of the rebrand?: to create a cohesive brand identity that would ensure consistent recognition across all platforms, and to increase engagement and signups among EUR students and young alumni.
Rebrand scope:
— Logo & Visual Identity
— Logo & Visual Identity
— Colours & Typography
— Social Media Templates
— Physical and Digital Banners
— Brand Guidelines
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Client: Erasmus University Rotterdam
Year: 2023
Client: Erasmus University Rotterdam
Year: 2023
The Challenge
The Alumni department of Erasmus University Rotterdam was lacking a consistent and professional visual identity for their Erasmus Career Café. As a result, they were struggling to create invitations, social media posts, banners and promotional materials that stood out, resonated with their audience, and clearly communicated the purpose of the events.
The Solution
I developed a flexible, approachable design system that combines vibrant colours and playful graphic elements. This system not only creates a fun, dynamic visual language but also translates seamlessly across social media and promotional materials. To capture the human element, I incorporated hand-drawn doodles and candid photography, adding authenticity and warmth to the design.
To make customizing social media posts easier for the team, I created templates using Canva, enabling them to create high-quality, on-brand content with ease.
To make customizing social media posts easier for the team, I created templates using Canva, enabling them to create high-quality, on-brand content with ease.
Concept
The inspiration behind the logo came from iconic road signs. I wanted to represent guidance, directions, growth, and the journey students and alumni take together. The logo features three arrow-shaped road signs pointing in different directions, arranged to form the letter "E" for Erasmus.
I intentionally gave the arrows slightly "wonky" rounded corners to add a human touch. These imperfect details help create a friendly, casual feel that aligns with the brand’s warm and approachable style.
Brand Colour Palette
To reflect the friendly, casual, and warm feel the Erasmus Career Café wanted to communicate, I chose an energetic colour palette. The mix of bold core colours and trending accent colours evokes a sense of youth, approachability, and openness—perfect for connecting with both alumni and students.
Typography
To make customization easier across social media templates and brand materials, I selected a single typeface family for consistency, which is also available in Canva.
Aileron. A minimal, modern and neo grotesk inspired sans serif font with its own personal style. It features 8 weights ensuring great readability and pleasant aesthetic that suits both professional and casual applications.
Graphic Elements
The three arrows forming the letter ‘E’ in the logo are key visual elements in the brand. They’re versatile and can be used in many creative and playful ways, from highlighting key information to framing images and building shapes that add dynamism to the compositions. They can also be imagined as stickers that students could use to personalize their notebooks, laptops, bikes or any other devices.
Doodles
The hand-drawn doodles are a key part of the brand’s personality. These expressive, quirky elements are used to highlight important keywords and add warmth, dynamism, and most importantly, a human feel to the brand.
Social Media Templates & Banners
To help the Alumni team in creating consistent, on-brand content, I designed social media templates and banners in Canva. This user-friendly tool allows them to easily customise templates for new posts and event updates while maintaining a cohesive aesthetic across all communications.
Brand Guidelines
I created this helpful companion for the Alumni team, providing clear instructions on how to consistently use the logo and brand elements, as well as customise social media posts and banners independently, all while maintaining the brand’s visual integrity.
