Western Heights College

Branding That Can

Learning to say 'I can' Western Heights College is a public high school in the northwestern suburbs of Geelong. The college was an amalgamation of three schools in the area that had come together to strengthen their offer.

Overview

Western Heights College was experiencing a declining student population. Years of negative media attention had hampered their ability to attract new students to the school. And a lack of distinction and purpose between competitor schools in the northern Geelong region left the school with few tools to rehabilitate their reputation.

Fluid translated the brand essence ‘I can’ into a new logo and secondary visual language. Fluid created engaging student portraits and combined them with a vibrant graphic language as a visual metaphor for an individual’s learning journey from where they are, to where they want to go. The new brand identity’s vibrant, flexible and eloquent message brought to life the brand essence, ‘I Can’. This approach emboldened the school’s learning community. It gave the whole school license to celebrate their achievements no matter the odds. And it built a mindset that encouraged students to have a go and be the best version of themselves they can be.

Broader parent and community feedback and comments were overwhelmingly positive. The new logo brand lock up featuring the orange colour was popular amongst students, parents and the community in particular on the new uniform. The values and purpose statement, “I can” helped build momentum within the school community and beyond. It helped support a common language to articulate what the school was all about and was implemented across social media campaigns to build awareness. Since Western Heights College first engaged Fluid, the school experienced an increase in open night attendances by 276% over just three years.