Branding an Education Initiative
Indigenous Education Initiative of Michigan
Style guide, logos, icons, graphic design
CLIENT
Indigenous Education Initiative of Michigan
SERVICES
Graphic Design, Branding, Creative Direction
Interconnectedness in Action
The Indigenous Education Initiative (IEI) identifies and addresses educational issues and shared priorities between local Tribes and the State of Michigan. Among the many focuses of the IEI program, one key foundation is to build meaningful relationships that improve the educational experience and outcomes for Indigenous learners in Michigan. IEI needed a visual brand that reflects the interconnectedness they embody, their unique positionality, and their connection to the Michigan Department of Education.
A Brand that Connects, Delights, and Inspires
We designed a meaningful style guide ready to tell IEI’s evolving story. The style guide includes an ADA-compliant color palette that incorporates a twist on the emphasis of the Michigan Department of Education’s brand standards. It also includes fonts that reflect the serious yet soft worlds in which IEI walks as they collaborate with various audiences, as well as multiple logo variations, a set of hand-drawn digital icons, shapes, and borders, and other assets. These assets have been used on printed materials such as their Consultation Guidebook and program awareness items like pins, patches, beanies, folding chairs, and more. The icons have even been developed into patterns to be used on items like custom fabric and journal covers.
Our Process
WCA guided IEI team members through our 7 Creative Phases to develop a brand and style guide package that achieved their objectives. We conducted a two-hour Clarity Call that included members of both IEI and WCA. Our director guided participants through activities that called on all five senses to generate the information and inspiration needed to co-create the brand. After the Clarity Call, WCA performed auxiliary research, considered supporting materials provided by IEI, such as their original logo, and prepared a Creative Brief that summarized the direction of the brand’s tone and visual style. After IEI reviewed the Brief and offered a few tweaks, we prepared visual mockups in the form of a mood board to confirm the direction of the brand. At this stage, collaborative discussions brought us all closer to the through-lines of the brand assets. We incorporated IEI’s feedback, and they approved the mockups.
A Brand that Connects, Delights, and Inspires
We designed a meaningful style guide ready to tell IEI’s evolving story. The style guide includes an ADA-compliant color palette that incorporates a twist on the emphasis of the Michigan Department of Education’s brand standards. It also includes fonts that reflect the serious yet soft worlds in which IEI walks as they collaborate with various audiences, as well as multiple logo variations, a set of hand-drawn digital icons, shapes, and borders, and other assets. These assets have been used on printed materials such as their Consultation Guidebook and program awareness items like pins, patches, beanies, folding chairs, and more. The icons have even been developed into patterns to be used on items like custom fabric and journal covers.
More About the Logo
The metaphor of the pollinator continues to be an important way to describe the IEI’s work, as they move from community to community to share and grow Indigenous education. Pollinators can symbolize growth, change, and interconnected relationships, as do many of the features of the visual brand. The IEI logo brings together seeds, beads, and bees to tell the story of their work.
The IEI logo, featuring a bee with spirit beads, informed additional visual elements that complemented the brand’s story. The diverse colors featured in the logo's beads are also found throughout the brand.
More About the Icons
Icons include a strawberry, a strawberry runner, a strawberry harvest, two butterflies, a crane, a sturgeon, a cedar sprig, a feather, and a black-eyed Susan. Inspired by the stories told by IEI team members during the creative phases, they were hand-drawn by Monica, Zoe, and Biidbaaban. Brenda digitized and further beautified the collection.
The beads, sprinkled into some icons like the strawberry and the feather, show the relationship between pollinators and their sacred relatives.
The strokes of the icons follow a similar line-work style, with variations in thickness, expressing the moving spirit of the work.
The flower icon uses the wings of the bees as petals.
These icons represent relatives who thrive in water, air, and Earth.
