Our client:

The University of East London (UEL), one of London’s Top Six universities (The Guardian University Guide, 2026), is a UK public university known for its "careers-first" approach, preparing students for future jobs with strong industry links and a focus on employability, offering diverse courses across campuses in Stratford and Royal Albert Dock, and recognized for high teaching quality and student satisfaction. UEL is a diverse institution, welcoming students from over 160 countries.

What our client needed:

Our client, with a strong focus on student and staff wellbeing across the campus, was planning a whole organisation initiative called “Active Campus”. This programme was designed to educate students and staff on the sports and wellbeing facilities across campus, and how they could engage with these facilities to enhance overall mental and physical health. In addition to the overarching Active Campus theme, there were sub-themes including Active Journey, Active Pool and Active Trail.

How we worked with the client:

Our first action was to meet in person with the client and take a tour of the UEL campus, paying particular attention to the various facilities to be brought to life with illustration, and the need for cultural diversity to shine through every image.

Jenn started work on the primary Active Campus graphic as this was to be used on digital signage across the campus and needed to be ready first. This graphic was soon followed by the three additional graphics which are easily identified through different colours, in alignment with the UEL brand.

All illustrations were initially drafted in black and white by Jenn, iterating to the colour versions through a process of collaboration and feedback from the client.

The result:

A series of four illustrations used across the UEL campus during the Active Campus campaign. The graphics were used prominently on digital notice boards and on pop-up banners at key university sites.