The Branding of Schools

Barnard Magazine covers (photographers, clockwise from top left: Victoria Cohen, Noah Sheldon, Juliana Sohn, Annie Leibovitz)

The field of secondary education isn’t just competitive for students. Colleges and universities today vie not only for students but for the best educators, press, and funding. More and more, schools must distinguish themselves, reconcile their histories with their future goals, and tell their stories to the world. To do this, they must first organize their information and then communicate it clearly and consistently across all outlets.

We often don’t think of schools as “brands,” and it’s not a word often applied to the field of education. But increasingly, schools around the world are paying attention to how they see themselves, and how they present themselves. We’ve witnessed this trend over the last few years, and have worked with several schools to help them articulate and communicate who they are.

La Cambre Mode[s] 1986–2006, book for La Cambre fashion school, Brussels

In honor of the 20th anniversary of renowned Belgian fashion school La Cambre, in 2006, we designed, edited, published, and distributed a book retrospective. Through some 650 images, and interviews with many individuals connected with La Cambre-Mode[s], the 500+-page book gives an up-close look at the school’s first two decades. Our BaseLab division created a design tool especially for the book, that enables printing on the outside edges of pages in one simple step. We co-published the book in collaboration with Books On the Move (BOM), a joint publishing venture between Base Publishing and printer Actar.

Soon after, we were commissioned to design the visual identity for the prominent art college San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI). Our idea is based on the notion of dialogue, a concept fundamental to the process of education. Central to the identity is a custom font—”Dialogue”—designed by our type foundry, BaseLab. To reflect spoken dialogue, the typeface is set as italic, at a slant that often carries over to the design grid.

fyi magazine, for San Francisco Art Institute

Manhattan’s prestigious Barnard College came to us for very different reasons. With its many various departments and organizations each often creating its own communications, Barnard had become inconsistent in how it presented itself. In redesigning Barnard’s identity, we started by focusing on the core characteristics that make Barnard what it is—a liberal arts college in New York City for women. We then consolidated the various visuals that were flying around—typefaces, colors, symbols—and created a graphic guideline for Barnard’s entities to follow. Collaborating with the College’s Communications team, we art directed a series of photo-shoots to begin building a library of different types of imagery, redesigned Barnard’s alumnae magazine, produced various communications materials and signage, and oversaw the design of its website.

We turned Barnard construction barriers into message boards featuring profile silhouettes of students.

For Polimoda, the famous fashion school in Florence, Italy, we avoided a logo and instead focused on the school name and a strong typeface. We created a loud visual voice using a series of alternating black and white patterns that reference fabric patterns. This has proven to be a budget-friendly solution for the school. Our work with Polimoda has encompassed promotional print materials, administrative materials and stationery, signage, and look-and-feel of the website.

Polimoda IDs

Polimoda brochure

So, where is it coming from, this rise in college marketing? An article in Business Week (from August 2008) cites a decline in the college-age population combined with a variety of new communication outlets as responsible for the rising competition among colleges and universities. While some may continue to reject the application of business strategies to the noble field of education, it’s clear that the competitive schools of today are increasingly aware of the importance of how they present themselves.