BRAND INCEPTION • BRAND STRATEGY • ART DIRECTION • ILLUSTRATION • COPYWRITING • DIGITAL
Kansas City Academy is a private, independent grade 5-12 school located in the heart of our city. With a core curriculum concentrated on individual creativity that is firmly grounded in math and science, KCA encourages students to challenge the norm, find their own voices and graduate ready to take on the world with confidence and curiosity.
Thinking caps on, we began our exploration with a deep dive into education branding, both private and public. Our primary objective was to create a new identity system that celebrates the deep dedication to freedom of expression central to KCA and reflects the credibility of an institution that prepares students with a quality, well-rounded education.
The solution incorporates a traditional use of a seal to carry the school name and tagline with the school initials in the center, pushing the boundaries of the inner circle. The mark can stand on its own in the bold red brand color or it has the flexibility to live in black and appear as a layer that gets woven into the fabric of the KCA story.
Students and teachers are on a first name basis. This nurturing informality fosters the kind of free form discussion that helps students find their own courage, celebrates their individuality and sets them on a path to adulthood.
The new tagline, Academically Minded, Creatively Driven, emphasizes the unique balance between left and right brain that makes KCA so special. We also created a series of core mantras used both internally and externally to inspire and motivate.
KCA exists in an environment of mutual respect. Students teach. Teachers learn. Because everyone has something to pass along and no one falls through the cracks.
Boundaries can be good. But they can keep out as much as they protect and pretty soon you don’t even notice what you’re missing. At KCA we’re powered by curiosity, invention and entrepreneurship. Which means we can’t be contained.
At KCA we encourage trying new things, embracing changes, experimenting. Because we learn as much from our failures as from our successes. Sometimes more.
We know how lucky we are at KCA. We are surrounded by creativity, inspiration and love of learning. But most of all we’re surrounded by examples of what it means to sacrifice, to demand justice and not to rest until all are equal.
Self-expression is critical to self-realization. KCA instructors encourage students to find their voices. It may be through theatre, it may be through chemistry. And it may even be through theatrical chemistry. You just never know.
No one ever achieved their dreams by going with the flow. KCA fosters a think different mentality—one that embraces the revolutionaries, the groundbreakers, the rebels and the iconoclasts.
Student contributed artwork completes the brand identity system, serving as the basis of supporting collateral. Some is creatively focused while others lean more toward science, math or language arts. All are highly imaginative and special.
