Reconnecting a historic centre of learning to its community with modern design.
To attract the very best teaching staff, and increase student enrolment, to a state secondary school whose proud history and excellent reputation needed a refreshed brand and new ideas to see it continue to develop outstanding young people into the future.
A complete brand refresh with logos, fonts and styles along with a coordinated suite of digital, website and print assets, interior design, photography and copywriting.
Founded in 1959, the St John Payne Catholic School is steeped in its rich faith traditions. The school's logo—crossed palm fronds—represents the martyrs, the red representing the blood of Christ and the gold, his crown. The school's motto—zeal for the faith—communicates passion and intention. Working with the board of governors and the school's senior leadership team, Spread consolidated these values and historic elements, separating extraneous traditions from the foundational origins, seeking to simplify them and develop abstracted symbols to communicate them effectively.
Founded in 1959, the St John Payne Catholic School is steeped in its rich faith traditions. The school's logo—crossed palm fronds—represents the martyrs, the red representing the blood of Christ and the gold, his crown. The school's motto—zeal for the faith—communicates passion and intention. Working with the board of governors and the school's senior leadership team, Spread consolidated these values and historic elements, separating extraneous traditions from the foundational origins, seeking to simplify them and develop abstracted symbols to communicate them effectively.
Early in the strategy process the existing mission statement, 'developing an outstanding school', was quickly replaced with, 'developing outstanding students'. This small change had a seismic effect on the brand strategy.
Redefining the primary role of the school to one that was student-focussed allowed us to position the school as an essentially human body, intrinsically linked to its community as an investor and as a champion. The rebrand included updating the logo, introducing a new typeface, and colour ways for each educational department. This created a cohesive environment for students, parents and staff that extended into the digital space beyond the school.
The new website along with a coordinated social media strategy provides platforms for up-to-date community engagement. New signage around the school, including an imposing 25ft logo applied to the main entrance, encourages everyone to walk tall. Refreshed brochures and prospectuses reflect the school's student-focussed forward-thinking behaviours.
“Spread provide a fantastic service. They invested time to build a partnership with the school, taking a personal interest and getting to know our context and culture. Designs were shaped over time to reflect our guiding purpose, underpinning principles and values. The result perfectly marries our decades of tradition and heritage with our position as a modern and contemporary Catholic school. The images and photos are really striking, and the whole site is crisp, fresh and easy to navigate.” – Tom Coen, Headteacher.
