| Highlander Charter School - Highlander Dunn Institute
2010 REBRAND 100 Winners > notable
Industry: Educational Institutions
Enterprise Rebrand
Country Base: USA
Below: Before Images, Rebrand Images, Summary, Credits
Summary:
Industry Setting - Highlander Charter School is dedicated to transformative education for each and every
individual.
Challenge
• As CVS Highlander, funders had a perception of the school as financially solid. This was an
issue to the development office. (CVS is the leading network of drug stores in the US)
• The academic quality, diversity, creativity, and warmth of the student experience was not
reflected in the existing materials.
• The website was not a portal for information sharing by students, parents, staff, and the
community; it was not on a CMS (content management system), and it was out of date. Moreover, it was seen as a
roadblock, and enrollments were dropping as frustration of parents with enrolled students was
increasing.
• Recent merger with The Dunn Institute (funded by Hasbro - toy manufacturer) afforded a deeper opportunity to
encompass the sister organization in the rebranding. Dunn is a learning lab whereas the School is a place to
implement and test Dunn's theories.
Strategy -
• Audit of regional charter schools revealed classic symbols of books, buildings, and flags.
This was an opportunity to modernize and truly stand out
• Interviews with staff, board, and students spoke to “openness” and “individuality,” “shared
decisions” and “family values” in a culturally and socio-economically diverse context
• Brand positioning: Highlander Charter School is the only charter school in Rhode Island that
specializes in the diverse learning needs of each child.
• Identity to incorporate subtle nods to ongoing funding (but not primary funding) partners:
Charter School to use red similar to CVS, Dunn Institute to use blue similar to Hasbro.
• As the Institute is the lab and the School is the practicing area, show the correlation
between the two by making them “two sides of the same coin”
Result
• One system unites two entities under one name, one brand
• Clarity of purpose, titles, roles brings renewed strength to both organizations
• Website completion will involve all-school web orientation session, and
align myriad personal email addresses (aol, yahoo, etc) with one domain name
• New taglines work to reflect current organizational status as well as aspirations
Credits:
Client: Highlander Charter School - Highlander Dunn Institute - www.highlandercharter.org
Brand Strategists/Designers: Schwadesign, Inc. - www.schwadesign.com
Project Lead: Josh Silverman
Project Team: Evelyn Hafferty Fischer, Neal Fassnacht, Jake Camara, Matt Underwood, Chris
Parrish, Sam Costello, Anna Macgregor Robin
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