Rebranding

Founded by Royal Charter in 1561, Kingston Grammar School is one of the country’s leading independent co-educational day schools.

Based on the 13th century coat of arms of Edward Lovekyn, a prominent Kingston businessman and the founder of the eponymous Lovekyn Chapel, the school’s crest consists of three eagles rising and three scallop shells. However, over time, its application had become inconsistent and it was proving difficult to implement. We were therefore tasked with delivering a more modern and less complicated design.

From the outset, it was clear that given the historical significance of the crest, this was an exercise in evolution rather than a revolution. With that in mind, we refined and redrew the logo so that it is more accurate, clearer and easier to use consistently. More realistic and dynamic eagles, simplified shells, a cleaner shield and scroll and new typography, alongside easy-to-use brand guidelines, met the school’s brief perfectly.

Following on from our identity work, we were asked to design a key piece of school literature – the Sixth Form Prospectus. Informed by strategic advice delivered by Mungo Dunnett Associates, we devised a concept that not only took on board key recommendations, but also worked as a campaignable device to differentiate from the ‘vanilla’ prospectuses of other local schools. We based our concept around the idea that the school is widely referred to as KGS, so used the initials to write a number of three-word headline statements that hinted at the content of each section. Bold typography brought those to life, and alongside an engaging tone of voice, simple illustrations and strong photography, contributed to a well-received piece of work.

KGS’s iconic panelled sports kit provided the inspiration for our design for the school’s minibus fleet, with the vehicles vinyl wrapped to echo the famous red and grey shirts.

Other work has included an identity and advertising for the school’s Summer Ball, literature for a series of music concerts and an identity and marketing collateral for a Growth Mindset conference.

What we did
Brand identity / Brand communications: Promotional materials / Copywriting / Brochures / Guidelines / Advertising / Photography / Art direction / Signage