What sets your school apart from the rest? Is it a scintillatingly smart student body? Tough-as-nails sports teams? An indubitably inclusive culture?
Whatever it is that makes your school unique, it’s crucial that it comes through in your school branding. Acknowledging a collective trait (or traits) unites your student body, motivating your pupils to take pride in where they come from and to work hard for success everywhere, from the classroom to the sports field.
How do you translate abstract values into a tangible product like your brand? Short of slapping the word “strength” or “intelligence” on a gym banner in bold font, you might think this impossible. Or, you may believe that collective characteristics, while unifying, are too hard to convey without being too on-the-nose and thus uninspiring.
It is possible, and SportsGraphics is here to prove it! As Clarion school branding professionals, we’re here to help you through every part of rebranding a school, including the finer points of building a brand.
Let’s discuss how to build a district-wide image that conveys your students’ common strengths and skyrockets them towards success!
Value-Based Brand-Building Basics
While you may have one perception of what your school stands for, students and parents may have another. Find a way to collect community feedback. It’s a great way to discover the positive impact your district has, and it’ll get your creative juices flowing as you work to build a brand that expresses what’s important to you.
You should also keep the following in mind:
● School mascots are important. This guy (or gal) will make appearances on everything from bleacher enclosures to wall graphics, and they’re one of the easiest ways to make concrete your school’s values. A knight, for example, may exemplify stalwartness and strength, while a wolf might represent fierce loyalty and cooperativeness.
● Your staff represents the values you claim to stand behind. Do classrooms and extracurriculars actively practice the values your brand stands for? If not, your district risks being seen as dishonest and incompetent.
● Look back on your history. What values, since its creation, has your school strived to embody? Do you have stories or other evidence that you’ve historically practiced them? A strong backbone of success in an area makes building a believable brand easy.
Contact SportsGraphics for Innovative School-Branding Ideas
Stuck in the mire of a complicated branding process? Our creative Clarion team is ready to make something your school can stand behind. Give us a call today at 1-800-257-640 and let us help your district reach its full potential.