Montessori School Logo & Brand Identity

Frisco Trails Montessori

We operate montessori schools and FTM is one such school (ages 1 - 10). School info is at http://www.friscotrailsmontessori.com. As described in the "About Us" section, we are committed to providing an excellent, nurturing Montessori learning environment where children can learn at their own individual pace. We believe in providing holistic environment to education - focusing on teachers, students, parents and the facility. Clean, safe and high education standards is how we execute. Unlike day cares, the focus is on education and excellence - so, we avoid loud colors such as Red, Blue, Yellow etc. The current logo which uses the pink tower of montessori is not as attractive - and we are looking for innovative graphic designers and artists who can communicate our passion for education through our brand identity. Other concepts we introduce to children is social responsibility, being green, respect for others, self confidence and aiming for excellence in what they do. We want parents to choose FTM because they feel it is a safe, loving environment where their kids can learn and develop a strong foundation for their future. More information about our facility and programs are on the website. A sister school is New Age Montessori (http://www.newagemontessori.com). We tend to use "Explore, Absorb, Evolve" as a tag line to reflect our commitment to various phases of child development

Our target market is parents of children ages 1-10 who are looking for an excellent academic and nourishing environment for their children. These parents tend to be less price sensitive, love their children and place their development above convenience. They tend to be well educated and usually in the mid to high income groups. These parents value values and are borderline elitist. Given that both parents work, they prefer institutions that have streamlined operations, are known to be operating on philosophies and generally are in tune with social and environmental responsibilities and want their children to learn all these. These parents are also looking for "premium" look-and-feel.
In addition to the parents, we need to attract good teachers - and good teachers want to work at the best institutions.

We want to develop a brand identify - with the logo and colors as the first that reflect our principles and convey this to the target audience.

- Not looking for flashy or "corporate" look and feel. Want the logo to be warm and classy. Creativity is welcome - think as a parent
- Colors: Neutral colors (e.g. green, brown) - open to other such color combinations. Do not have to use the color scheme in the website. We want to change the colors according to the logo
- Tend to use a LOT of black&white prints (e.g. class materials). Logo should therefore be good when printed in black and white.
- Plan on using the color scheme for brochures, business cards, stationery etc. - So, fewer the color combinations, the better
- Logo should be web friendly (prefer white/transparent background)
- Use very little gradients (drop shadows ok)
- Will have to develop business cards and stationery after this project based on the logo