A school brand* is more than a badge on a blazer

It’s how your values, culture and ambitions become visible — shaping first impressions, creating a sense of belonging and helping everything you put out feel like it comes from the same place.

Type & Thread works with schools, colleges, universities and Multi-Academy Trusts to create distinctive identities, prospectuses and communications that feel true to who you are — and where you’re going.

Graphic of a sunset over fields with the sun partially visible behind hills, superimposed on a sports court background.

Education evolves. Leadership changes, communities grow and ambitions move forward — but visual identities don’t always move with them.

A refresh or rebrand doesn’t have to mean throwing everything away. Sometimes it’s about knowing what to keep, what’s no longer working and what needs to change. We can help you find that balance, bringing everything together without losing the recognition and heritage you’ve built over time.

Your identity should reflect the school* you are now

How we can work together*

Close-up of a logo for Glebe Farm School on white textured paper, with a teal surface background.

Branding for education

We create and develop visual identities for schools, colleges, universities and Multi-Academy Trusts.

That could mean starting completely from scratch, carefully evolving an existing crest or logo, or developing a wider visual identity that finally makes everything feel joined up.

Whatever the starting point, it should feel like your setting — not a generic idea of what an education brand should look like. And it needs to be practical enough for busy teams to actually use.

Open prospectus of Kettering Science Academy with purple and white design, featuring photos of students in classroom and outdoor settings, and the academy's branding.

Prospectus design

A prospectus is one of the most important pieces of marketing a school can produce.

It’s a chance to give prospective students and families a real sense of your school — the education you provide, the character of the community and what it might actually feel like to be part of it.

We bring together editorial structure, typography, photography and your wider visual identity to create prospectuses that are easy to navigate, lovely to look through and genuinely representative of your school.

We can support the whole project, from creative direction and planning the pages through to final print-ready artwork.

Informational posters from The Harbour School, featuring curriculum wheel and educational pathways for year levels 4 to 11, and various educational themes and questions.

Marketing materials

One identity. Lots of audiences.

School communications have a lot of people to speak to — prospective families, current students, staff, governors, alumni and the wider community.

We can help you keep everything feeling recognisably yours while adapting the message and design for the people who actually need to see it.

From open day and admissions campaigns to newsletters, magazines, social graphics, events, signage, recruitment and internal communications.

For Multi-Academy Trusts

A MAT has an extra design challenge: creating connection across the trust without erasing the individuality of each school.

We can help you work out what should be shared across the trust and where individual schools need room to be themselves — creating a visual system that brings everything together without making every academy look identical.

From identity systems and brand guidelines to templates and everyday communications, everything is designed to work across multiple schools, teams and people.

Gray circle with a large black question mark and a flower-like symbol inside it.
Open academic prospectus with text and student images, displaying course information and university highlights.

From screen to finished piece*

Good design still has to work when it leaves the screen.

We think about the practical details too — how something will be printed, what paper might suit it, how the artwork needs to be supplied and what will give you the best finished result.

And if you’d rather not get involved in conversations about paper stocks, finishes, bleeds and print specifications, we’re very happy to have those conversations for you.

Stylized flower with six rounded petals in a circular arrangement, colored in muted blue-green against a black background.

Some of the education teams* we’ve worked with

  • “We have received so many compliments about the visual identity she created.”

    “Sara was quick to understand our needs and has been endlessly patient. She understood how important it was for us to feel happy that the new brand had the vibe we wanted. We have received so many compliments about the visual identity that she has created for us and have great brand recognition in our industry. Sara is great to work with and I would highly recommend her to anyone.”

    – Anna, NESTT

  • “Type & Thread has been an invaluable partner in transforming our visual identity.”

    “Type & Thread has been an invaluable partner in transforming our visual identity. Sara has guided us through a complete rebrand, creating a cohesive and professional image that truly reflects our mission and values.

    Her attention to detail and commitment to understanding our needs has resulted in materials that are not only visually stunning but also highly effective in communicating our message. Thank you for bringing our vision to life!”

    – Phili, Inspiring Futures through Learning

  • She works quickly but meticulously and her work is visually stunning!

    “Sara is an exceptional and extremely creative graphic designer. She works quickly but meticulously and always meets deadlines. From creating social media carousel adverts to interactive resources, logos, prospectuses, roller banners, print adverts, posters and flyers, Sara is extremely talented at all aspects of design work and her work is visually stunning, as well as aligned to existing branding. She is also fantastic at the technical aspects of social media and digital marketing design and adds great value.”

    – Katy, Thomas Deacon Education Trust