It's an exciting time to be involved in the New Zealand education scene. As one educator said, at a groundbreaking ceremony I recently attended, "School architecture is finally starting to catch up with the pedagogical changes that have been taking place in recent years."
I have worked on a number of new school builds and rebuilds over the last few years. Just like the architecture, that is shaped by the pedegogy, the visual brand is shaped by the vision for the school as established by its leaders. This can take time. My aim, for years now, has been to help school leaders unbundle what that vision looks and sounds like. The earlier this process begins the better.
New school builds and rebuilds present an opportunity to create something new and fresh. This often begins with the school logo. When applied to an artist's impression it raises the level of excitment, sense of pride and ownership around what is being created. The build takes on a new life!
But the new look doesn't stop at the school logo. There is the supporting brand identity (of which the logo is part of) to consider too. This is in the form of shapes, patterns, words and colours that, when combined in the right way, form the basis for how the school should present itself at all times.
I work closely with principals and boards to understand what they are trying to achieve with their new school look. I then have a conversation with the Project Delivery Managers from the Ministry of Education around how we can incorporate some of these things into the buildings. It is important to have this conversation early on in the process so that a budget for this can be set aside.
The following are some new school build and rebuild projects that I have had the privilege to work on. They include examples of logo designs, ethos diagrams, signage, window and door manifestations, internal and external wall graphics, wayfinding as well as links to the creative thought process behind each of them.
Pareawa Banks Avenue School - Rebuild
Te Kura O Take Kārara (Wanaka) - New School
Read more about Te Kura O Take Kārara's branding in their case study here.
Te Matauru Primary - New School
Knights Stream School - New School
South Hornby School - Rebuild
Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto - Rebuild
Read more about Beckenham Te Kura o Pūroto in their case study here.
From Jodie Howard - Principal at Te Kura o Take Kārara, Wanaka
Craig was recommended to us by another new school that had just opened. When we explored Craig's website, we really enjoyed reading other school's stories and the experience and service Craig provided.
Our face to face meeting with Craig was very valuable as he was genuinely interested in finding out about us and our story behind the development of our new school. There were many aspects that we wanted represented and valued in our logo design and the challenge was to make that all happen but to still make it look cohesive. Craig achieved exactly that.
Craig is passionate about what he does and he ensured he would do the best for us. He listened carefully and we felt he cared about us as clients. As the logo has such significance, Craig's pride in his work ensured he would get the best possible representation for us. Craig was very good at consulting with us along the way and kept us up to date right the way through the whole process.
We just love our logo. We are so very proud of it and feel Craig 'got it so right!'
Jodie Howard
Tumuaki / Principal
Te Kura o Take Kārara, Wanaka
Can I help you bring your new school vision to life?
Contact me with any questions you may have regarding what the process looks like, timelines, pricing, the options available and things to consider when building a brand new school look.
