New logo to be presented to WSCC Board of Trustees for adoption

Over the past several months, West Shore Community College has engaged its stakeholders in exploring a revitalized brand. Feedback was used from focus group sessions and inspiration was taken from the tenants of the WSCC strategic plan: delivering excellence in education, a robust and dynamic educational environment, and a learning experience that leads to success. The revitalized WSCC brand was designed to showcase a leading-edge, inspired, innovative educational environment that establishes trust as the local resource for dynamic learning experience.

The design process began with the goal to produce a visually contemporary mark that would both represent the foundational beginnings and innovative future of the WSCC brand identity. “The colorway symbolically represents both the literal and metaphorical nature of the WSCC brand position. Green for our pastoral wooded campus plus the growth fostered by our academic efforts. Blue for the depth of our Lake Michigan plus the fluid and innovative nature of our culture. Gold for the level of excellence plus the spark of inspiration that leads to brighter futures,” explained Chris VanWyck, owner of Engine Creative of Ludington, one of the design professionals contracted for the WSCC rebranding project.

Brandon Jensen, creative director of Rightside Design Group in Manistee, another design professional contracted for the project, explained the intention in adding + (plus/and) to the West Shore Community College name. “It is both to stop the eye in an otherwise familiar presentation of the name and explore the intention of the community college model. Each tagline shares a simple story of how WSCC inspires through foundational educational offerings. In each instance the equation is aspirational + foundational. This concept of connectivity allows a familiar thread belonging to proliferate from the core of the community + college to touch all departments and programs throughout the WSCC campus.”

The new brand package will be presented for adoption at the May Board of Trustees meeting.  The purpose is to provide the college with a new visual identification and consistent brand representation for all WSCC assets and efforts.

WSCC Executive Director of College Relations, Crystal Young shared, “We are excited to get started on the deployment of our marketing plan focused on innovation, access, opportunity, and value that will be critical for capturing attention in our regional market. We feel that the new brand mark will be a starting point for many important changes to the way we communicate the value of the college with the communities we serve.”

If adopted, implementation of the new brand will begin this summer as the college assigns priority to projects such as signage, print materials, digital assets, marketing campaigns and more. The brand standards outlined will allow for alignment of communication efforts for all WSCC departments, creating a unified representation for the institution internally and throughout the community.

Check out our latest video “Inspirational Legacy”  https://youtu.be/B_K3PCC0YLU