Building the foundation for a more consistent experience district-wide
BRAND BEFORE THE PLAN
THE CHALLENGE
One District. 70 campuses. Hundreds of touchpoints.
With communications coming from campuses, departments and programs across the district, Plano ISD needed a more consistent approach to how the brand looked, sounded and showed up. Before building a districtwide marketing strategy, I saw an opportunity to strengthen the foundation underneath it.
THE WORK
In collaboration with our marketing committee, I authored and implemented Plano ISD's first comprehensive Branding & Style Guide, establishing standards for visual identity, photography, writing, digital and print communications, advertising, video and more.
FROM DISTRICT TO CAMPUS
The challenge extended beyond the district logo.
Many campus identities had been created years earlier in legacy software, leaving schools with outdated designs and, in many cases, only low-resolution PNG files rather than scalable vector assets. Without a complete set of usable brand assets, staff and PTA groups often created their own variations—leaving some campuses with four or five different logos in circulation at once.
We’re now redesigning every elementary and middle school identity, providing each campus with updated logos, scalable assets and a cohesive visual system built for consistent use across print and digital applications.
A NEW IDENTITY FOR A NEW ERA
In the research and assessment portion of our marketing planning, stakeholder feedback consistently pointed to a common perception: Plano ISD’s visual identity felt dated.
As part of the broader brand work, we refreshed the district’s identity to feel cleaner, more modern and reflective of where Plano ISD is headed. The updated logo introduced Futura, a geometric sans-serif typeface whose name offered a natural connection to our mission: preparing students to activate their potential in a dynamic world.
The Impact
What began as a need for greater brand consistency became a broader effort to modernize how Plano ISD presents itself—from the district level to the individual campuses our families experience every day.
The work established a shared foundation for how we look, communicate and represent ourselves, while giving individual schools the flexibility to maintain identities of their own. That system now serves as the brand foundation for the marketing work that follows.
