Central Piedmont Community College Rebranding

We had the honor of joining the candescence, inc. team, led by Bob Davies, to rebrand Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), the second largest of North Carolina’s 58 community colleges. After candescence took the internal marketing communications team through an extensive brand strategy development process, km design began work to create a new brand that spoke to CPCC’s longstanding history of excellence but also reflected their optimism and excitement about the future and their prominent role in higher education in the greater Charlotte area.

Once an initial round of logo concepts was vetted by the internal marketing team, the concepts were presented to small focus groups that included prospective students and their parents, existing students, administrators/faculty and local residents. Current students felt strongly that the new brand needed to exude sophistication. For that reason, they were advocates for the logo concept that eventually became the final brand.

The Central Piedmont logo reflects the college’s vision as an institution committed to impacting lives through education. The mark, incorporating an intertwined “CP,” allows different viewers to draw their own inferences. Some see a three-dimensional tower (reminiscent of Central Campus’ Clock Tower), others see an upwardly-pointing arrow and still others are reminded of a cap and gown.

The logo achieves balance by virtue of a contemporary-looking icon that is combined with a more formal and traditional typeface. Together, we believe the new logo is both forward looking but also respectful of tradition.

After the logo was finalized, km design created brand guidelines to ensure the new brand was used correctly and had maximum impact. Sections of the brand guidelines included logo usage, color palette, typography, photography, graphic identity – stationery, staff uniforms, and vehicle identification and voice/messaging.

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