Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Matters is an Educational Branding Consultancy that was founded in 2008 after seeing a need for specialist branding guidance in the New Zealand school sector.
My name is Craig Burton and I bring 30 years graphic design experience to New Zealand schools by providing a 'One Stop Shop' style approach to their school branding requirements. My aim with Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Matters is for it to be the name that school leaders think of and turn to when they're ready to look at their school brand. I hope to achieve this by providing a top quality product EVERY TIME for each school I deal with. And by doing so I hope they come away from the experience feeling that every cent invested on their school brand has been worthwhile.
The school branding journey usually begins with an email or phone request. No two schools are the same so I spend a lot of time understanding every school's unique characteristics. When this is complete I then think about how the school brand could look.
One of a school's most important brand assets (and often the starting point for the school branding journey) is its logo. I try to incorporate rich layers of meaning into the school logos I design as a way to help school community communities explain who they are, and what they stand for.
Examples of this can be seen in the Logo Portfolio and the Case Studies provided.
I have had the honour and privilege of collaborating with many amazing new and existing schools across New Zealand. I look forward to working with many more in the future.
Craig Burton
Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Specialist
Hear how it all began, what it means to me, and the journey that followed, in this interview I gave to Resourceful Designer.
From My School Client Friends
"Craig worked with us to redesign our school logo and branding. He listened to our stories and incorporated our ideas and vision into images that both symbolise our fresh direction and acknowledge our past and our school culture. We are continuing to work with him to bring this new, fresh look into all of our school-wide documents and publications."
Sandy Hastings
Principal ~ Tumuaki
Beckenham School, New Zealand
"At the beginning the of the year I was searching online for a company who would be able to take a logo design a child had created and turn that into a stylized logo for our school. My aim was to find a business that was local and would have a clear understanding of the importance of getting it 'just right', so if reflected the vision and values of the school. Fortunately I came across the 'Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Matters' website and was delighted to see that it was a Christchurch company which ticked my first box. After looking at the examples of others schools' logos on the website I was convinced that 'Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Matters' was the perfect for creating our logo.
I heard back from Craig within a day and after he had received the child's initial design it was a only a matter of days before I had some potential designs to show the staff and BOT. Once we had chosen the design we liked, Craig very quickly identified what colours we would require, and the design and colours were sent to the distributor to embroider onto our new polo shirts. I have also used Craig's expertise to discuss the next step to continue the rebranding process in our school, and that will be signage.
I have found Craig to be extremely accessible, prompt in his responses and knowledgeable in the design process. His ideas are innovative and he spends a lot of time getting to understand the special character of your school, so that the final product is meaningful and relatable to the whole school community. I would not hesitate to recommend Craig and 'Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵ Matters' to any school/organisation looking to make create a brand for themselves that stands out from the crowd."
Kathryn Sim
Principal ~ Tumuaki
Duntroon School, New Zealand
School branding is a collaborative process.
Contact me if you would like to know more about the process of creating an inspirational brand identity for your school.
