Designing a brand for a revolutionary education space
The Waukee Innovation and Learning Center is home to Waukee APEX, a program that brings together students, business professionals, and community members. Students work on real-world projects and learn industry skills as opposed to spending their day in a traditional high school setting.
Waukee Aspring Professional Experience was an innovative idea that needed an equally innovative building. The Waukee Innovation and Learning Center is what resulted — and it was my task to create a brand that draws inspiration from the architecture.
I begin every project by defining a set of keywords to guide my design. The keywords for this project are:
This logo has the most interesting story of all the logos I've designed. I sat on the idea for several weeks and made some sketches, but none of them were hits. It wasn't until I saw a birds-eye view of the building on Google Maps that I was inspired. The triangular shape of the building is exactly what I needed to highlight in my design — it perfectly illustrates the collaborative nature of the APEX program.
I also knew that a "Concentrak" style was the way to go. This style is popular for modern venues and is reminiscent of the colored lines found throughout the building. The fonts I chose match the fonts of the APEX logo and create a modern look.
The colors of this brand are pulled directly from the decorative pieces within the building. The brand perfectly encapsulates the building design as a result.
The Concentrak style plays through the other designs in unique ways. The dark green color is used to evoke a unique experience for events and welcome signage, where simpler white designs is used for functional pieces.
Since opening, the WILC has had several high-profile visitors including Apple CEO Tim Cook and White House advisor Ivanka Trump. Prior to his visit, Cook announced a $100 million dollar investment in the Waukee community and a new data center. The building continues to be a hotspot for business leaders all across the country, providing students the opportunity to collaborate with them.
This logo design also won a Gold Award in the 2017 Scholastic Art and Writing awards design category.