AI Brand Strategy
To effectively tell our story, we must understand that artificial intelligence is more than just the next wave of high-tech. AI is universally changing how we think about small tasks and big questions. It’s vital to message the technology and our initiative using approachable methods.
WHAT IS AI?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a computer’s ability to think and learn from massive amounts of data. Anywhere you can collect large amounts of data, AI has the potential to help you solve a problem, big or small.
WHY AI AT UF?
This tool is transforming our daily lives and the workforce of the 21st century, which is one of the reasons UF began its AI Initiative in 2020 to lead the way in building an AI university.
The AI initiative will make UF a national leader in AI and have far-reaching impacts on the university and its students and faculty. Equally important, it will transform Florida’s economy into a diversified, technology-driven, high-wage economy.
AI BRAND STRATEGY
We aim to position UF as a national leader in integrating artificial intelligence tools throughout the university, including instruction, research, professional development, and continuing education.
These guidelines are here to assist you in choosing words, images, and experiences to help your audience better understand what artificial intelligence is and why it is essential for faculty and students at UF.
KEY GUIDANCE
- Messaging should be an extension of the “Momentum” brand yet have a distinct feel for AI storytelling.
- Lean into the idea that AI offers data-empowered decision-making for real people seeking to solve complex challenges.
VISUAL THEMES
AI is a part of our everyday lives — From smartphone apps to navigation services, AI has transformed our daily tasks and impacted the 21st-century workforce. With AI reshaping society and how we work, our audiences must see the human before the technology.
KEY GUIDANCE
- Show how faculty and students use artificial intelligence to understand real-life challenges and help discover solutions to advance daily life.
- Highlight human interaction and natural in-field settings that your audiences will recognize.
- Use elements of the “Momentum” brand direction to show distinct and relevant content to a broad audience, including academic and commercial settings. For example, this image uses the “environment” style from the brand platform.
VISUAL COMPOSITION
Visually showing the use of AI is essential in telling its story and should not be limited to images of computer cords or students hovering over a computer. One way to demonstrate how students, faculty, and staff interact with this technology is through layered collages.
Layered collages allow us to provide depth and dimension. A primary image is used as the main focus of the collage and paired with an AI-textured background to create a coherent design.
BACKGROUND IMAGES
Background images should be used as an element to highlight the primary photo. They provide texture to a design and are the secondary image.
KEY GUIDANCE
- Background images should not be used in place of primary photos.
- Background images can be found on the UF Brand Center’s Resources page under Downloads and AI Toolkit>AI Graphic Elements.
FONT STYLES
The fonts for the AI brand platform are the same as the Momentum platform – Gentona, Newsreader, Billion Dreams, and Obviously. Gentona and Newsreader should make up most of the design, while Billion Dreams and Obviously should be used sparingly as header callouts.
KEY GUIDANCE
- Gentona works well for long text runs and pairs well with our more expressive accent typefaces.
- Newsreader also works well for long runs of text, callouts, and other supporting copy. It should seldom be used for headlines.
- Billion Dreams is best used for a few keywords in a headline or subhead, not for long text runs.
- Obviously is a display font appropriate for brief callouts, factoids, numbers, and adding particular emphasis.
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS
Basic shapes, lines, and dotted lines should be used sparingly as an extension of the “Momentum” brand to highlight exciting aspects of the image and how it relates to AI. Graphic elements such as an arrow or target graphic should always be directed towards a clear area of focus that will help tell the story.
KEY GUIDANCE
- Use simple visual symbols and overlays in small doses to confidently demonstrate aspects of how UF is helping students and industry decode their surroundings when using AI.
- When downloaded, letters and numbers in the graphic elements are placeholders. Remember to update the letters and numbers that are displayed. Course numbers or names can be used in graphic elements.
GRAPHIC ELEMENT EXAMPLE
Here is a sample highlighting the best way to use visual numbers and letters.
You’ll notice letters and numbers in the arc to the ad at the right. These letters and numbers are not random but identify course numbers a student would take as part of the AI undergraduate certificate.
KEY GUIDANCE
- Lines and arrows are a great way to convey a process and place, reinforcing the concept of one idea leading to the next.
- The graphic elements must never dominate the overall content of the photograph or the other elements in the composition.
VISUAL STYLE
As we build an AI university, it is essential to show that it is cross-disciplinary. It’s also important to visually depict that AI is not an abstract, far-off, or scary concept and should not be portrayed as such. The foundation of visually showing AI is to merge real-life and technological vision through approachable, exciting, digestible, and thought-provoking imagery.
Deliverables created under the AI brand should demonstrate technological heroes using AI for daily living, advancement, and research.
KEY GUIDANCE
- Use clean, organized layouts and compositions
- Ensure graphic elements are subtle and appropriate for the design
- For color, elect to use blue or white most often; use orange as an accent or secondary capacity
DESIGN EXAMPLES
