Iconic Beginnings: Designing the Visual Identity for a New School
10/8/20243 min read
Role: Designer
2022
Summary: I designed a cohesive visual identity for the school, collaborating closely with the client to ensure alignment with their vision and values. This involved developing a logo, color palette, and supporting materials, while maintaining open communication to refine designs and deliver a solution that resonated with their community.
Crafting a visual identity
I was approached by the headteacher of a school that was in the process of being built, to create a visual identity for the school. The headteacher had a strong vision for the school, but wasn't sure how to translate that into a logo and brand.
I worked with them on defining a brief that included a core brand concept, characteristics and visual style of the brand.
CORE BRAND CONCEPT
The school is named after Florence MacWilliams, and so the core of the concept will link into who she was and her area of focus: coding theory. Visually we will work around this as a central idea, bringing together visuals that relate to that area of focus to create a logo that references the woman who inspired the school.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE BRAND
Below is a list of characteristics that brought definition to what the brand would be:
A sense of heritage
Depth / significance
Linking to our history
Aspirational
Ambitious
Trusted
VISUAL STYLE OF THE BRAND
These were the specific visual definers that shaped how I developed the branding:
Modern and yet traditional
Mix of serif and sans-serif font, dependent upon logo icon• Maroon & navy as a starting point (but not fixed)
Not black
Additional colors could be considered
Earthy color palette rather than bright and cheerful
Simple but not simplistic
From this definition I initially went back with 2 logo concepts, and visual aesthetics, for the client to choose from, based on the same core idea.
Crafting a visual identity
The client loved the second approach, and I moved forward with crafting the whole visual identity and delivered a comprehensive set of assets with guidelines to facilitate the client implementing the identity as the school was built.
