Association for Quality Economics

The Association for Quality Economics (AQE) needed a brand identity that would establish them as a serious voice in economic reform while remaining approachable to students and early-career economists. The challenge was balancing authority with accessibility—appearing credible enough to influence the discipline, yet welcoming enough to attract the next generation of economic thinkers.

Strategic Positioning

Through collaborative workshops, we identified four brand pillars: credible, professional, quality, and approachable. These became the foundations for every design decision, ensuring the visual identity could hold its own alongside established institutions while signaling that AQE represents something different.

Logo Design: Challenging Assumptions

The logo centres on a circular bar chart—immediately recognizable as economics while subtly subverting expectations. The nested, incomplete rings serve multiple purposes: they reference the statistical foundations of economics, suggest the discipline as evolving rather than static, and evoke circular economic systems and sustainability. The form is both familiar and progressive, mirroring AQE's mission to transform economics from within.

Typography & Colour: Professional with Personality

The type system pairs REM for headlines (a modern display font with distinctive outstrokes that commands attention) with Inter for body text (optimized for on-screen readability). This combination maintains professionalism while avoiding the corporate sterility common in academic branding.

The colour palette centres on International Klein Blue—a bold, recognizable professional colour, but with higher contrast that signals AQE's ambition. Vista Blue provides a softer counterpoint, adding approachability through delicate secondary elements like buttons and section backgrounds. The result is a palette that feels both authoritative and inviting.

Outcome

The brand and website establishes AQE as a credible force in economic discourse while maintaining the openness needed to attract student engagement and institutional support. It's a visual identity that says: we understand the discipline well enough to challenge it.