Driving brand recognition with an iconic new identity

In-depth discovery meetings with Northwood Tech’s leadership gave KW2’s design team the brand background and inspiration it needed to succeed. Stakeholders shared their regional pride and a desire for their new logo to communicate a strong sense of place. They also told us what sets their institution apart—a commitment to helping every learner forge their own, entirely unique educational journey. Northwood Tech needed an identity that celebrated the college’s connection to the land and their nonlinear approach to higher education. 

Our design team dove into the challenge. After a series of collaborative feedback sessions, KW2 delivered a clean, contemporary Northwood Tech mark that references the trunks and branches that make the area’s richly forested landscape so iconic. The mark also captures the many, often divergent, learning pathways taken by the college’s diverse student body. Once the logo was complete, we aligned their sub-brands, updated the university seal, and developed a toolkit of brand guidelines and templates to help cross-campus communications teams and partners create consistently. We brought the new look to life on Northwood Tech’s well-built website. And if that wasn't enough, we even designed the college's fiery new mascot, Blaze. 

Despite a short timeline, KW2 strove to build consensus at every level of the process, ensuring that board members and other stakeholders could feel confident and proud by the time the new brand launched. Our collaborative approach worked, and the response was immediate. Students, faculty and staff, and the larger Northwood Tech community quickly embraced the college’s new modern look. Most importantly, our client tells us their project goals were not only met—they were exceeded.