Public charter school St. Louis Language Immersion School (SLLIS) offers an innovative learning experience, teaching students not only English, but also one of three target languages: French, Spanish or Chinese. The school aims to develop cultural understanding, global awareness and academic excellence by integrating a second language into their academic curriculum.
Despite offering a unique and transformative learning experience, SLLIS struggled with brand awareness. This is where we stepped in: to help align the brand with their vision.
Learning a foreign language can have powerful reverberations throughout a student’s life: multicultural awareness, global perspectives and a commitment to diversity. We heard about those effects in interviews with members of the SLLIS community, and it served as inspiration for the entire brand. The brand language reflects how the school is building a better world, one student at a time.
For the logo, we drew inspiration from diacritical marks found in various languages, such as umlauts and accents, and developed geometric icons. Using colors found in the Spanish, French, Chinese and St. Louis City flags, the brand palette highlights the similarities among the cultures.
Brand graphics reflect the school’s cultural diversity—with a building block-like icon corresponding to each supporting point. But we knew the brand’s success relied on adoption, so we designed the icons to be easily understood, recited (in each language) and drawn by students.
Through this cohesive visual language, the school’s mission and its profound benefits are encapsulated in the tagline, “The Language of Connection.”
Branding isn’t confined to just logos and language. Updated communications materials and swag, like pamphlets, signage, bus shelter ads and team jerseys connect parents, students, staff and the broader community to the brand.
St. Louis Language Immersion School has significantly impacted the lives of children and families in St. Louis City; we were honored to have played a part in amplifying their mission.
