The Cambridge School of Weston is a progressive, private high school whose brand identity had remained unchanged for nearly a decade. As a result, prospects were left with inaccurate impressions about the CSW brand that had evolved unchecked over time. Two misperceptions that needed to be addressed aggressively was that CSW is predominantly a school for the arts and that their academics were not rigorous - a particular brand challenge, given the number of competitor private high schools in the northeastern United States.
Designed to give prospects a choice of how to consume information about the school, the viewbook package is comprised of three separate publications; Basics, Voices, and Experiences. Basics is a concise, scannable, 12-pager that presents the highest level facts and information about the school. Voices is a more personal way to learn about life at CSW through a series of stories told from the students point of view. The largest of the three, Experiences, lists every course and extracurricular activity a student has the opportunity to participate in, both on and off campus.
A critical component of the brand was to tell stories from the students’ perspective - and in their own words.
Realism and honesty were paramount, so in Voices, we photographed students in extreme close-up and unretouched, as if the reader is actually meeting the students in person.
Portrait pages fold out to reveal a snapshot of life for that particular student, with quotes, a sample of their actual course selection, as well as their favorite aspects of life at CSW.
The new identity extends to virtually all aspects of the CSW brand - from website to direct mail, and wherever possible, reinforces their leadership in progressive education, as well as academic excellence and rigor.
Check out the live site at www.csw.org
