Beloit College

Beloit College

Founded in 1846, Beloit College is one of the oldest, most admired private colleges in the country. They practically pioneered liberal arts education. But despite their powerhouse reputation, international recognition, and venerable history, the college was starting to face declining enrollment. They were starting to feel like the world was shifting away from the liberal arts. Beloit College asked Swink to rethink the way they were introducing themselves to new students.

  • Brand Strategy
  • Visual Identity
  • Print

Case study

Beloit College outdoor class scene

Own ​“Liberal Arts”

At Beloit College, we found the Liberal Arts were very much alive. We saw nothing ​“impractical” or ​“soft” about it. The education was challenging, multi-disciplinary, and engaged. What we found was that Liberal Arts was simply being talked about the wrong way. While everyone else was running away from the Liberal Arts, we should boldly claim it as our own.

Amperland

At the heart of liberal arts education, we found an ampersand.

Beloit College amperland graphic

The ​“&”

“&” is additive. Seemingly every student was building an education with fascinating, unexpected combinations. Marine Biology & Theater. Material Design & Physical Education. Liberal Arts meant bringing together the people, concepts, ideas, and passions that you would never expect to live together. These were interesting kids building the foundation for truly interesting lives.

“&” goes deeper. As a question, “…and?” is a way to keep exploring, to refuse to accept that what’s at the surface is all there is to see. ​“And?” was the key question behind the Liberal Arts, penetrating and illuminating the world around us.

Beloit College introductory brochure cover

Introductory Brochure

We created a short-form brochure distributed to college fair attendees positioning Beloit College as Amperland — the unapologetic home to true Liberal Arts education.

Beloit College introductory brochure interior spread

Introductory Brochure interior spread

Beloit College introductory brochure cover fold out

Introductory Brochure cover fold out

Beloit College introductory brochure interior details first image Beloit College introductory brochure interior details second image

Introductory Brochure interior spread details

Admission Booklet

A large-format booklet for serious students. We designed it big to stand out among the sea of competing college materials and highlighted the amazing ​“&”s of a self-directed, Liberal Arts education. 

Beloit College admission booklet cover

Admission Booklet cover

Beloit College admission booklet interior spread A

Admission Booklet interior spread

Beloit College admission booklet interior spread B

Admission Booklet interior spread

Beloit College brand guidelines cover

Brand Guidelines

This booklet served as a resource for internal Beloit staff to maintain the visual language across all their admissions efforts.

Beloit College brand guidelines interior spread

Brand Guidelines Booklet interior spread

Results

Beloit College recorded an immediate 33% year-over-year increase in admissions following the introduction of the Amperland campaign.