What happens when a university has no visual rules — and every department is just doing whatever it wants? I sat down with Barth Hague, the former Chief Marketing Officer at Wichita State University, to talk about what it actually takes to build a consistent brand from the ground up. We covered the chaos that existed before the rebrand, why a logo is not a brand, and how setting boundaries can actually unleash creativity rather than kill it. This conversation is a masterclass in the ROI of visual standards — and why without them, you're simply throwing your investment away.
Highlights
- Wichita State had multiple logos and zero visual standards when Barth arrived — every department was designing on its own terms
- The marketing office functioned as the university's in-house ad agency, but without rules, the answer to every request was essentially "do whatever you want"
- Barth's philosophy: branding is a dollars-and-cents decision — without consistency, you're wasting your investment in a visual identity
- A logo is not a brand — colors, typography, photography, illustration style, texture, and pattern all work together to create brand DNA
- Visual standards don't limit creativity; they redirect it — the best creatives thrive within a well-defined framework
- Brand consistency sends a powerful signal to prospective students: if the university looks this put-together, maybe it is this put-together
- The rebrand created a ripple effect of institutional pride — students, faculty, and staff started wearing the mark and identifying with the university
- The financial case for standards is real: economies of scale, reduced reinvention, and faster ROI all follow from a coherent visual system
- WSU's campus has since doubled in size, and the visual identity established during this era continues to define the institution today
- The winning firm in WSU's national RFP search was just 15 blocks away — because heart and proximity matter
Chapters
0:00 — Cold open: The national search that ended 15 blocks away
1:02 — Introduction: Barth Hague and the rebranding of Wichita State
1:35 — The state of the brand when Barth arrived: no rules, no standards
2:17 — "Whatever you want": how visual chaos happens at scale
3:01 — The case for consistency: branding is a roadmap, not decoration
3:46 — Merging the academic and athletic logos — and what comes next
4:32 — The marketing executive mindset: thinking in dollars and cents
5:23 — Codifying standards to create accountability and clarity
6:23 — Fragmented university design: every college doing its own thing
7:03 — The website as a cautionary tale: when you stop enforcing the rules
8:25 — What inconsistency signals to prospective students
8:59 — "Marketing is the business of getting and keeping customers"
9:22 — Branding as enrollment strategy: students need to recognize WSU
9:49 — A logo is not a brand: the full DNA of visual identity
10:29 — Pressing the yellow button: bringing WSU's color to life on campus
11:37 — The art director who pushed back — and the consultant's response
12:21 — Creativity within constraints: doing more, not less
13:04 — The CFO loves standards: cost savings and economies of scale
13:18 — ROI from visual standards: why it pays off early
12:20 — Student and faculty pride: the cultural shift that followed
13:02 — WSU's campus today: a lasting legacy of the rebrand
14:43 — Closing: teamwork, RFPs, and the firm 15 blocks down the road
Resources
Brandifesto is brought to you by Gardner Design. Ready to build a brand that consistently connects across all touchpoints? Then visit us at gardnerdesign.com
This podcast is part of the ICT Podcast Network. For more information, visit ictpod.net.
15 mins