Visual Representation System in University Branding: Sociological Perspective

The study is devoted to the analysis of corporate styles and visual images of Russian universities as elements of their branding. On a sample of Russian universities, their emblems were subjected to detailed structural and semiotic analysis, which allowed to reveal their general structure, describe the spectrum of the depicted visual images and form a semiotic typology of meanings. Also, case studies of universities for a purposeful work with the corporate style were carried out, which helped to identify and describe the features of the functioning and role of the visual representation system of the university in the process of its branding. Today, it is extremely difficult to find scientific studies that examine the role and functions of the corporate identity and emblems in building a unified visual style and promoting the brand of the university. At the same time, the demand for information on the graphic design of the university's brand is growing rapidly due to the increased entry of Russian universities into competition in the international market for higher education. The study was conducted in 2017-2018; to identify the parameters of universities the database monitoring of the effectiveness of universities in 2016 used; emblems were collected manually through university websites (917 pcs.). The study used a combination of quantitative (indicators of universities and emblems) and qualitative (expert interviews with directors of corporate style departments, brand book analysis) methods. Based on the results of the work, a connection has been revealed between the presence at the university of purposeful work with visual representation and success in the market of higher education. The research also suggests a conceptual model of branding that takes into account the use of corporate identity and emblem in the process of designing and promoting the university's brand.