Because a school without students is merely another building, designer Ati Peterson recomposed the Volusia County School District’s logo around the one absolutely necessary element for a school—the children. Nancy Wait, director of Community Information Services for the school district, says the district’s current logo is “old, antiquated clipart. No one knows what the lamp of learning is. They think it’s a genie in a bottle.”

Wait’s three wishes for an improved logo? Identify the district’s focus on students and achievement; make it two-color; and go modern!

At the onset of the logo redesign, Peterson first researched the district’s goals. Its ambitions, she discovered, center around academic excellence, lifelong learning, opportunity, family and community, as well as diversity. Early explorations incorporated the book from the original logo, a chalkboard, and tropical and beach themes.

The final design has students lifting or holding up Volusia County Schools. With the fresh font Charcoal in eye-catching fuschia, and various tones for the children representing the district’s diverse population, the combination reinforces the district’s goals, as noted by Wait: To “provide and encourage a climate in which the involvement of families and community members from diverse backgrounds is valued and welcomed,” and to “increase commitment to family and community partnerships to provide resources and programs to maximize student achievement.” By placing the most important members of the district—the students—front and center, Peterson’s redesign refocuses the Volusia County Schools’ goals to encourage student achievement.

The new logo is versatile and functional. Individual students can be pulled from the logo for later applications on letterhead, envelopes, and the like, and the district name also can stand alone.

1. Original The original logo’s lamp of learning is often mistaken for “a genie in a bottle,” says director of Community Information Services Nancy Wait.
2. Redesign The new logo’s fresh font, color scheme, and multicultural student body lifts the school district’s standards higher.
3. Early options Designer Ati Peterson explored playing off the original logo’s book icon, modern circles and a chalkboard feel, a tropical approach, as well as a beachy design.
4. Font The lines and curves of the refreshing font Charcoal work well with the illustration.
5. Colors Peterson selected an attention-getting fuschia that’s fun, young, and uplifting for the district name, and a variety of flesh tones for the students in the logo to show the schools’ diversity.