Creative Services Case Study

Cumberland County Schools (CCS)

As CCS prepared to launch its new 5-year strategic plan, their team decided to take the opportunity to rebrand themselves at the same time. The new brand would help underscore their vision and represent their core values, while also modernizing and updating their overall look and brand.

We began our efforts by examining the research CCS had already gathered from focus groups and surveys, plus with information from key stakeholders about CCS’s overall goals. We explored several options for their logo, with some being a true departure from their existing brand, while others were more of a simple refresh. CCS wanted to make sure their logo stayed “evergreen,” not tying it just to this 5-year plan and messaging but creating something that could last for years to come.

The result was a brand designed to represent their commitment to students and their core values of excellence, innovation, collaboration, equity, integrity and compassion. The icon is made up of several graphic elements including an open book with a stylized student wearing a graduation cap reaching for the stars. The icon conveys that graduation and success are attainable for all students of Cumberland County Schools. The branding focuses on the vision to engage its community and provide an exceptional environment with impactful teachers and staff committed to student success.

The logo is designed to easily lock up with the key messaging we developed or have that messaging swapped out for department names or other messaging in the future. We also developed brand guidelines to help people across the school system apply the brand consistently. We designed stationary, signage and other materials to get them started.