Designing three new collections with Curating Cambridge
The brief
Curating Cambridge manages licensing for the University of Cambridge. It is owned by the University and works with partners who make products under the Cambridge name.
Stripes have long been part of that identity. College scarves, club ties, rowing blades and rugby shirts all carry them, and each set of colours marks where someone belongs.
The brief was to give licensees a proprietary pattern collection built on that tradition, and a style guide to use it well.
A city of two lines
We looked past the stripes themselves to the place that shaped them. Cambridge is built on two lines: the straight edges of its colleges, and the curve of the River Cam and the Backs.
Every pattern in the collection comes from where those two lines meet. We set a small number of rules for width, rhythm and curve, and built each design from them.
Working from the source rather than the artefact means the collection does not copy any one scarf or tie. It can also grow without repeating itself.
Three collections
The patterns sit in three collections. Each stands on its own, and all three read as one family.
- Heritage draws on the traditions and long history of collegiate Cambridge.
- Pioneer reflects the University's record of discovery and new ideas.
- Sports takes its cue from Cambridge's sporting colours, on the river and the pitch.
Colour
Cambridge Blue is fixed in every collection. Around it we set a contemporary palette: electric blue, russet, olive, pink, orange, purple, lavender, brown, soft blue, light green and a yellow we call buttercup.
A comprehensive style guide
The style guide is the working tool for licensees. It sets out each collection, its patterns and colourways, and how they sit alongside the University's own marks.
Every pattern, colourway and repeat has its own code. A manufacturer can specify exactly what they need, and the range stays consistent from one product to the next.
