The meaning behind our new brand
During the Spring of 2023, COFS Faculty & Staff came together to manifest a refreshed identity for the school. Together, we planted the seeds for a look that intentionally embodies the spirit of our community and its shared values. Over the summer, time was taken to tend to what we earlier sowed and cultivate beauty and goodness in the form of a new brand. Here is the result of that labor of love:
As this new look was created with deep intention, here are some of the meanings embedded within our new logo:
With ‘Fountains’ in our name, we felt it only necessary to incorporate the water element. Our brand, both colors and logo, have the essence of a fountain, bringing water – life – wherever it goes. Just like water, our school is a source of ever flowing life and nourishment.
The ripples evoke the feeling of a maze, a symbol often associated with an individual’s journey and growth throughout life. Starting from the outside, the logo is reminiscent of the winding path we all walk through life.
Every element of our logo, including the font, is hand drawn, emphasizing the intention of Waldorf Education to teach hands in addition to the head and heart.
Each layer of the logo mark represents a particular realm, as depicted in the image below. Starting with the child, who is being closely held by each of the following – their own family and class family, COFS Faculty & Staff, and our school community as a whole. Each realm is very much connected with and immersed in the other. We are all in this together.
A brand is more than just a logo, though – it’s an inward and outward expression of the school’s goals and values. You can think of it as our school’s personality. We hope you’ll recognize this new brand as a meaningful depiction of our community and the education we strive to provide at City Fountains School.
-
According to their intuitive branding process, Lauren led our teachers and administration through a Discovery Session, during which we spent the afternoon dreaming up a new brand for the school. This day included a discussion about the spirit of our school and how we each uniquely experience it. As we manifested together, Lauren guided us through a series of questions to better understand COFS (i.e., the school’s history, where it’s headed, design inspiration). Together, we dreamed up ways to establish a genuine, recognizable presence that feels true to our community. The new brand is the result of all this dreaming.
-
Parents will most likely choose a school that reflects their values. Branding serves as the first impression, which allows families (current and prospective) to immediately understand and align with the school’s values. A recognizable brand builds trust and credibility. Good branding has the power to attract new staff, recruit new students and families, increase esteem and engagement in the school community and improve the school’s profile in the wider, local community.
-
Anytime the school feels like it has experienced substantial growth or reached a point of transition would be a great time to take a good look at branding and whether it accurately reflects the school's mission, vision and values, as well as the community.
For COFS specifically, some major changes have occurred over the past few years that could serve as reasons to update branding including the addition of middle school Grades 7 and 8, doubling Kindergarten offerings, updating Parent/Child structure, achieving stand-alone Grades classes, many new faces and simply recovering from the pandemic! As we are about to implement BigSIS and update the website, now is the perfect time to take a close look at the school’s brand and manifest an identity that best reflects who we are as an institution and community.
Brand Colors
You can support the school and this next phase of its existence by submitting a testimonial for our website. If you're interested in sharing a short statement about City of Fountains School and what it means to you or your family, we'd deeply appreciate it.