POLIMI GSoM

A Red Dot winning rebrand that leveraged design thinking methodologies to align the school’s identity with its purpose, ambition, and vision.

Strategy: UX Research, Journeys, and Mapping. Use Cases, Jobs-To-Be-Done. Information Architecture.
Ideation: Design Sprint. Prototyping.
Creativity: Visual Identity. Design Systems. Product Design.
Delivery: Verbal and Visual Identity. Brand Experiences. User Research. Information Architecture. Website.

Client: Polytechnic University Milan, IT.
Website: www.gsom.polimi.it/en/
Agency: Interbrand Milan.
My role: Experience/CX Design Director.

1

Understanding the Challenge

Repositioning an Academic Brand for Global Impact

POLIMI Graduate School of Management, the consistent top-tier rankings business school of Politecnico di Milano, wanted to redefine its identity in alignment with its strategic vision of shaping better futures for all.

The existing brand, MIP, no longer reflected its ambitions. A rebranding effort was essential to establish a stronger connection with Politecnico di Milano while asserting independence as a leading business school.

The project began with extensive research, including competitor benchmarking, stakeholder workshops, and audience listening sessions. To understand brand perception, expectations, and gaps in the higher education landscape, we talked and uncovered insights from students, graduates, and business partners.

Key findings informed a strategic brand framework and naming analysis, which resulted in adopting the name "POLIMI Graduate School of Management. "This name reinforces the school's academic credibility and international standing.

2

Defining the Identity

A Multimodal Brand Rooted in Purpose

The goal was to craft a brand that reflected POLIMI’s human-centered ambition, academic rigour, and progressive mindset. The design brief established a holistic approach to verbal, visual, and digital identity, ensuring coherence across all touchpoints.

The logotype was designed as a flexible element, with a central circular symbol representing the school as a knowledge and innovation hub. The condensed typography balanced editorial heritage with a modern, practical aesthetic.

The colour palette was carefully curated to symbolise POLIMI’s values:

Blue: Academic heritage (Politecnico di Milano).
Warm Green: Sustainability and societal impact.
Brick Red: Architectural elements of the new Navigli Campus.
Dusty Pink: A fresh, unexpected warmth that adds uniqueness.

3

Designing the Experience

A Dynamic Digital Ecosystem

Designing for a single device or input type is no longer enough. Technology has expanded customer journeys, channels, touchpoints, and branded experiences.

Beyond a visual identity, the brand transformation extended into the digital experience, ensuring consistency across platforms and interactions.

A well-structured information architecture was developed to streamline user navigation, making content more accessible and intuitive.

The UX process included:

Prototyping user flows to refine interactions.
Testing assets’ responsiveness beyond print and digital.
Creating a design system of foundational components for seamless cross-device experiences.

The new digital presence reinforced POLIMI’s positioning as an innovative, forward-thinking institution ready to engage global audiences.

Information Architecture (IA)

Sitemap

Design System: Foundations

Design System: Components

4

Implementation & Impact

From Concept to Reality: A Cohesive Brand Experience

The new brand system was successfully rolled out, ensuring clarity, alignment, and long-term scalability. It strengthened POLIMI’s identity as a leading business school, resonating with students, faculty, and corporate partners.

The transformation was de-risked through design thinking methodologies, iterative sprints, and prototyping loops, and stakeholder alignment was achieved early in the process. The outcome was a flexible yet robust identity system adaptable to evolving needs.

POLIMI’s repositioning modernised its brand and contributed to its global recognition, reinforcing its status as a top-tier business school and driving future leaders and impactful change.

"This represents a very important development for our School, part of the great journey of change that began in 2020, when we redefined our purpose and core values and launched a new strategic plan.
Working with Interbrand has been an amazing journey, a path of listening, analysis and co-creation that involved hundreds of students, alumni, prospects, and corporate and institutional #partners. I am glad I had the chance to be part of this journey, and I am extremely proud of the work we have done together as a team.”

Sergio Oliveri, Chief Communication Officer at POLIMI Graduate School of Management

Designing for a single device or input type is no longer enough. Technology has expanded customer journeys, channels, touchpoints, and branded experiences.

Express Your Brand Across All Media

Ale

Strategic Design
Service Design to shape ecosystems
Customer Experience to craft interactions
Branded Experience to create differentiation

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All work © Alessandro Pascoli and/or agencies otherwise noted.
This website uses Google Analytics to analyse web traffic as aggregated data, and it does not directly or indirectly reveal personal identities or process or collect personal data.

A Red Dot winning rebrand that leveraged design thinking methodologies to align the school’s identity with its purpose, ambition, and vision.

Understanding the Challenge

Repositioning an Academic Brand for Global Impact

Defining the Identity

A Multimodal Brand Rooted in Purpose

Designing the Experience

A Dynamic Digital Ecosystem

Implementation & Impact

From Concept to Reality: A Cohesive Brand Experience

Designing for a single device or input type is no longer enough. Technology has expanded customer journeys, channels, touchpoints, and branded experiences.

Strategic DesignService Design to shape ecosystemsCustomer Experience to craft interactionsBranded Experience to create differentiation

All work © Alessandro Pascoli and/or agencies otherwise noted.This website uses Google Analytics to analyse web traffic as aggregated data, and it does not directly or indirectly reveal personal identities or process or collect personal data.

Strategic Design
Service Design to shape ecosystems
Customer Experience to craft interactions
Branded Experience to create differentiation

All work © Alessandro Pascoli and/or agencies otherwise noted.
This website uses Google Analytics to analyse web traffic as aggregated data, and it does not directly or indirectly reveal personal identities or process or collect personal data.