Holston Academy is an online school startup, offering an accredited, flexible online school experience for grades 6-12. As a startup brand that was working to redefine the concept of “school,” they were innovative and tech-forward, but also needed to feel somewhat traditional and established to allay parents’ concerns of taking a risk with their child’s education.

Branding Round A

Since we were starting from scratch, this phase was all about discovery. In particular, we needed to find where along the spectrum of innovative vs. traditional they wanted their brand to be.

Branding Round B

Coming out of Round A it was pretty clear that the Holston team felt the need to stay on the more conservative side of the spectrum, so we doubled down on traditional shapes and iconography like shields, crests, and classic architecture. This allowed us to anchor in more classic feelings of education, so that we explore more modern elements with our fonts, colors, and other details.

Branding Round C

By now, we had settled on a few options that they really liked, and were getting closer to the color palette. So, for this round, we really fleshed out the 3 options that they connected with, and even mocked up some examples of how they could look in the wild.

Final Brand Package Delivery

The choice was easy. The Holston team were drawn to the lockup we created with the H & A that was in the style of a classical column. It brought that traditional feel they were looking for, while the more modern font choices made sure that it didn’t feel too “old.” Next, it was time to move on to designing and building their website!

Laura Loughead

Director of Marketing & Communications

"From my first meeting with Jason to my collaboration with Matt and the creative team, I was impressed with everything Brolik had to offer! We were launching a rebrand, which involved a new logo, website redesign, and new messaging. This was a big undertaking with a specific target launch date, but the team made us feel confident we'd hit our deadlines... Thanks team, for a job well done!"