ABOUT

Background:
The Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence is a pioneering public research university based in Abu Dhabi, and the world’s first institution dedicated entirely to the advancement of artificial intelligence. Established in 2020 as part of the UAE’s broader strategy to position itself as a global leader in AI, the university brings together international faculty, researchers, and students to focus exclusively on the science, application, and societal impact of intelligent technologies.

Brief:
We were invited to lead MBZUAI’s brand refresh with very specific and focused targets.

The university's leadership wanted the identity to strike a thoughtful balance between the cultural heritage and tradition of their unique and special location, and the forward-looking innovation of modern AI technology.

They also wanted a design system that could be easily used and applied across the wide spectrum of communications that they produce, and be flexible enough to talk to their diverse audiences - from students and faculty to government and global business leaders.

The project carried a huge volume of outputs and considerations, not least to ensure all design assets worked in both English and Arabic languages. The sheer amount of different requirements had proved to be a particular pain point over the preceding years with the old visual identity, leading to inconsistency at best, and complete misuse at worst.

Our brand refresh had to cover the core university brand, a sub-system for the academic departments to give them autonomy within the system, creation of the university sports team logo and mascot, sub-brand identities for The Academy (the university’s world-class training and thought leadership program), and for the Institute of Foundation Models, which acted as the university's professional arm and international hub.

Much of the work also required agreement from many stakeholders, not least the government of Abu Dhabi.

Execution:
Without being able to change the logo, our approach to the brand refresh centred around the other core elements.

The colour palette was created to be more sympathetic to the local environment, but still rooted in education and technology – the warm sand hue evokes the natural landscape of Abu Dhabi, the desert, light, and warmth of the region, whilst the rich navy blue was chosen to convey depth, intelligence, and precision while maintaining a modern, sophisticated and versatile appeal.

Together, these colours bridge tradition and technology – a perfect reflection of Abu Dhabi’s role as a modern AI hub.

The pattern was directly inspired by the sun screens (mashrabiya) seen on the balconies of the student accommodation. This style of geometric art is widely seen across Arabic culture and gives the identity a strong visual link to its geographic location. The pattern was redrawn and created as a decorative and flexible element that can be used across all university communications, establishing a consistent yet versatile visual style that can flex in expression to appeal to their different audiences.

The final core element of the refresh was a new modular grid system, based on the Fibonacci sequence – a fundamental of number theory and closely tied to computer science and algorithms, it ties the identity back into technology and allows for infinite flexibility whilst giving the university a strong and consistent design system.

Results:
A quote from the client – "Good brand work changes how an organization sees itself. Researchers, leadership, and the marketing team are all using the same visual language, and doing it instinctively. It has been excitedly and instantly adopted across faculty, marketing, events, and executive communications. Just a few months in and no one remembers the old brand, it looks cold and dated. Brand and Deliver did not just hand us a system. They handed us one people are delighted to use."