Anoka-Hennepin Schools Brand Guidelines

Download the print brand guidelines

The current Anoka-Hennepin Schools logo has been in place since 2006. It is the primary visual element to identify the school district. We want our stakeholders to identify with the positive experiences and encounters they have with our staff, schools and programs each day. Consistency in design and imagery is a key factor in helping our stakeholders associate those positive experiences with the school district.

The district logo consists of three core elements, which have been specially designed and created in proportion to one another:

1. The logotype - an open “book” icon that grows up and outward. The initial idea was that the district is an “open book” when it comes to accountabilty.
2. The identifying words “Anoka-Hennepin Schools.”
3. The tagline includes the phrase, “A future without limit.”

Download district logos

Primary Tagline

The district tagline applies to schools, staff, students, their families and the community members each school serves. The tagline serves as inspiration that there is no limit to what they can achieve and what their future holds. 

Secondary Tagline

One of the greatest impacts of Anoka-Hennepin Schools is the interactions that staff have with students and their families; and creating an educational experience that will carry its students throughout their lives. 

It is the primary mission of the Anoka-Hennepin School District to educate each of our students for success. And students’ goals and dreams for the future are vastly diverse. Whether preparing students with essential academic skills or instilling the district’s core values (respect, responsibility, appreciation of diversity, integrity and compassion) in the educational experience. Students will leave the district ready to pursue whatever is next for them in life.

Consistency with the messages shared with the public are a big part of building a strong brand. Whether it’s a blog post, an advertisement, or even just an update on Facebook – we are communicating our brand. When those messages are positive, consistent and supportive, it is in alignment with building our brand as an outstanding school district where students have a future without limit. 

Sending conflicting messages can confuse our stakeholders and actually negate the time and resources that we’ve already put into building our brand. 

Values

• Respect
• Responsibility
• Appreciation of Diveristy
• Integrity
• Compassion

Personality

• Accountable
• Compassionate
• Intelligent
• Honest
• Innovative
• Fair
• Respectful
• Proud
• Successful
• Trustworthy
• Dedicated
• Responsive
• High-achieving
• Diverse
• Sensitive
• Friendly
• Collaborative
• Helpful
• Traditional
• Caring

Mission

Our primary mission is to effectively educate each of our students for success.

Vision 

The vision of the district is to be a public school system of excellence, with high quality staff and programs and successful graduates.

Typography - the use and design of printed type - is an important element in strengthening the brand and in communicating a unified personality for the district. By using the same fonts, stakeholders will begin to recognize official documents from the district and schools.

PRIMARY FONT FAMILES

FUTURA 

Use for headlines in print applications. 

Download Futura

ROBOTO SLAB

Use for headlines and subheads in both print and web applications.

Download Roboto Slab

ROBOTO SERIF

Use for headlines and subheads in both print and web applications.

Download Roboto Serif

ROBOTO

Use for body copy in both print and web applications. 

Download Roboto

SECONDARY FONT FAMILES

For digital applications when the primary typefaces are not available

GEORGIA

Use for headlines and subheads in emails, Word docs or PowerPoint files only. 

ARIAL

Use for body copy in emails, Word docs or PowerPoint files only. 

Color is a critical element in creating a memorable and lasting brand. Colors illustrate the personality of the district and its schools. The colors in the Anoka-Hennepin Schools palette complement and work well together, while also reflecting the majority of the schools within the district - creating unity. 

An official color palette has been selected to connect the brand of schools and departments to each other and to the brand of the school district.

Download color palette values

To create an accessible digital presence in accordance with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) guidance, color combinations should be limited to those listed here. Printed documents also should follow these standards. These combinations apply to all text, including presentations, infographics, charts, tables and text on top of images. The goal is keeping text accessible to individuals with visual impairments by meeting contrast minimums between the size and color of the text and the background. 

The guidelines shown here are just a starting point to understanding accessibility. For more information on accessibility, consult Yale University and the Web Accessibility Initiative. 

Download accessibility cheat sheet

Patterns

Refreshed brand guidelines use the district logo in patterns as a way to create graphic emphasis on titles, text or photos. Use of the patterns in the background of print or electronic communications as a bold or subtle design element can provide flexibility in design options. Zoom and crop on the patterns for use within proportion. (Do not stretch or distort.)

Download patterns

Icons

A package of approved icons is available to use in print and electronic formats to help stakeholders quickly and easily make connections in the district’s brand to written content in newsletters, webpages, brochures, catalogs or signage for the district and its schools.

Download icons

A picture is worth a thousand words. Engaging photos communicate the school and district’s personality in a powerful way and are effective in calling attention to news and messages.

• Capture scenes that are emotional and natural; try to think like a news photographer rather than a portrait photographer. 
• Move in closer to capture action and emotion! Faces and natural interactions are more interesting than backs of heads or profiles.
• Select crisp photos with bright lighting and vibrant colors when possible. 

Best practices:

• Verify that students do not have photo restrictions.
• Select photos that illustrate engagement in education and activities. Avoid photos of students displaying hand gestures or symbols in poses.
• Be mindful of logos that are not relevant to the school/district. Avoid publishing photos of students or staff wearing text on clothing to minimize the possibility of inappropriate words, symbols or phrases in district and school publications.
• Check backgrounds before publishing a photograph; avoid distractions such as objects directly behind a subject’s head.

Consistency in branding is just as important for each school as it is for the school district. Approved logos for each Anoka-Hennepin school are below. 

Changes to school names must follow a School Board approved process; and changes to school logos must be done in consultation with the Anoka-Hennepin Schools Communication and Public Relations department and the district print shop. School name or logo committees should allow at least four and up to nine months to develop key concepts for the project and engage community stakeholders. 

In alignment with school district strategic priorities and the continuous improvement model, it is preferred and most efficient to bring requests to Communication and Public Relations between the months of November and December each year, with the intent of conducting work on the project in the months of April and July each year.

Contact:
comm.pr@ahschools.us
763-506-1140

Brand Examples

The human mind constantly searches for patterns in everything that it sees, striving to find the unified picture as a whole. If the mind cannot find pattern in what it’s seeking, it has a high tendency to look elsewhere. When creating design (whether it’s a website, brochure or ad), it’s important to design in such a way that makes it easier, not harder for the mind to see the pattern.

Consistency with logos, fonts, icons and symbols help potential customers relate all the different messages they’re seeing, and potentially what source they’re coming from.

Consistency with imagery is just as important. The phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words” is used for a reason – pictures can help convey ideas and feelings that can support the messages you’re bringing across.

Every aspect of a organization’s print and electronic communications should be presented with a uniform appearance and that is why consistency in design is so important.

How can you use the many elements of our our brand identity system? Get creative! Here are just a few possibilities.

Thank you 

If you have questions about anything in this brand guide or if you’re unsure if your communication materials best represent Anoka-Hennepin Schools, please email our communications coordinator at comm.pr@ahschools.us.