St. Luke’s School: before and after

studio-e recently completed distinctive, flexible admissions materials for St. Luke’s School, a college-preparatory, secular day school for grades 5–12 in Connecticut (the After):

For the past year, we have worked with St. Luke’s to assist in re-branding and re-positioning the school within the Connecticut day-school market.

Below are St. Luke’s previous admissions pieces (the Before):

While these pieces—Be a scholar; Be an athlete; Be an artist—offered substantial information about the school, they didn’t express St. Luke’s true character. The school prides itself on its cohesive community and the multi-dimensional experiences of its students. Teachers encourage students to step out of their comfort zones and try something new. As a result, students are scholars, athletes and artists—not merely one or the other, as the admissions materials seemed to imply.

The After, on the other hand, tells a more accurate story (see photo at the top of the post).

We began the process of re-branding by first developing a communications platform. We then went on to design a wordmark and two admissions viewbooks—one for the Middle School and one for the Upper School. Linked together by a single theme: “above and beyond” and a folder that allows for flexibility, both books feature student and project profiles that illustrate the school’s community, academic strengths and multi-dimensional students.

We are eager to see how St. Luke’s new brand and admissions materials impact student recruitment, and will post results after the 2010–2011 admission season is complete.

Does your institution have a successful Before and After story? We’d love to hear about it.