College of the Holy Cross
The College of the Holy Cross was founded in 1843 by the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Worcester, Massachusetts. To raise their national profile and attract new students, I worked with the client to develop two guiding objectives: to differentiate Holy Cross (as it was known) from many other institutions with similar names (high schools, hospitals, cemeteries), and to strengthen and unify communications across campus.
Creating comprehensive brand guidelines and messaging increased collaboration among a range of departments around events, social media campaigns, and leadership communications.
To encourage adoption of the refreshed brand by alumni groups and other stakeholders, I created a guide to explain the background and design strategy, including how the traditional college seals would be incorporated alongside the new identity. I also illustrated how elements from the formal seal — the shield and sunburst — were isolated and enlarged to become the new mark.
After completing the main brand for the college I refreshed the “HC” athletic mark. Looking through alumni magazines I discovered a photo of an old “HC” mark that I used as the basis of the updated identity. After many options and discussions we landed on a dual system of outlined, classic varsity letterforms and a version contained within the same shield from the primary logo.
After our time came to an end, I still enjoyed following along on social media to see where the athletic logo would show up next!
