A school logo is one of the most important brand identity elements to help distinguish your school from another. If your school logo were to be lined up against a dozen other school logos, would it stand out? If the answer is no, it might be time to consider a new school logo.
- Does it stand out among other schools?
- Does it reflect a school's unique set of characteristics and beliefs on learning?
- Is it easy to apply to different media - uniforms, brochures, websites etc?
- Does the school community understand what it means? Does it have a meaning?
- Will it date too easily? Is it trendy rather than timeless?
- Do staff understand how to use the logo correctly? Is there a Logo Usage Guide?
Te Kura o Tititea - Mt Aspiring College Logo
Every school logo I create is an unique one off design. I try to include rich layers of symbolism and meaning so that when staff, students and parents look at the logo they can understand why it looks the way it looks. To that end a logo can help in putting all stakeholders on the same page.
Mount Eden Normal Primary School - Auckland
The school leadership team and Board of Trustees play an important role, as part of the collaborative process, in approving the final school logo. As such it is important to have answers to the right questions as to how the logo should look. These questions might include the following:
- How do you feel about the current school logo?
- Do you want something completely new or a refresh?
- What makes the school different/unique?
- What do you hope to achieve by creating a new school logo?
- What do you feel is important to have included in a new logo design?
Maungatapu School - Tauranga
Isleworth School - Christchurch
Jurien Bay District High School - Western Australia
School Logo Examples
Click to enlarge
PB4L Logo Examples
If you've found this page helpful you may be interested in the PB4L/Values Branding page containing examples of how PB4L branding has been used in schools. I regularly update my portfolio pages with new examples as they come to hand.
From My School Client Friends
Really impressed with the design process, and the time taken to understand the local context and priorities in what we wanted our logo redesign to capture. The communication was great throughout, and the professional approach enabled us to achieve our goals and refine the concept really effectively. I would highly recommend the service as a positive and creative design project that helped us move forward to define a fresh new look.
Alan Jackson
Principal/Tumuaki
Mt Eden Normal Primary School, Auckland
"We approached Craig to modernise our very dated logo - but we had almost no ideas for what it could look like. We also wanted to revise our uniform, so this placed considerable time pressure for a new logo! Craig was able to talk us through the design process and created a logo that suited our needs perfectly. He was able to incorporate elements of our traditional logo, as well as take into consideration the special features of our school. Our community is thrilled with the new logo! Craig has continued to be helpful with business cards, letterheads and any other items we need. "
Diane Crate
Principal, Feilding Intermediate, New Zealand
"Craig worked hard to embody the  passion we felt, and the vision for and of our school. He was very patient in working with us to articulate our beliefs and then in capturing the essence in a design. After many iterations and change of tack from us, Craig was able to produce Te Wheke and the colours to reflect our place. We were excited to finally have a meaningful and vibrant logo for our wonderful new school. Craig's work in this was crucial to our final design."
Diana Feary
Principal ~ Tumuaki, Lyttelton Primary School, New Zealand
"Craig was very patient with our school as we consulted and built our new logo. For our change process to be successful we had to bring everyone along with us so the logo was co-constructed as a visual image of how we saw ourselves.
We feel that the ‘masterpiece’ that was created by Craig has already stood the ‘test of time’ and from it we have developed multiple visual images around our school.
Craig’s ability to ‘get inside our heads’ and to understand what we held important was the key to success. In the end, we think Craig knew more about our school than we did. The feature that we have found most empowering is the way that we can build on the basic design to encompass our vision, our values and our learners qualities (key competencies), all in one tight package. We are very proud of the outcomes, and so are our students and their families."
Chris Herrick
Principal, Birchwood School - Nelson, New Zealand
Are you interested in a new school logo design?
I'd love to work with you on creating an unique logo design for your school. Give me a call and I'll talk you through the process.
