Client Partner
- E.L. Haynes
Impact Areas
Services
- Brand Identity
- Logo Creation
- Visual Identities
- Iconography
- Brand Guidelines
- Brand Website
- Information Architecture
- Website Design
- Website Development
- Brand Support
- Advisory Services
- Campaign Creative
- Print Collateral
- Report and Book Design
- Illustration
- Signage + Mural Design
- Apparel
- Website Maintenance
E.L. Haynes is an award-winning public charter school serving more than 1,100 Pre-K through 12th grade students in the Petworth neighborhood of Washington, DC. Its mission is to create a more just and kind world by preparing every student to become a lifelong learner, leader, and community member.
The school is named for Dr. Euphemia Lofton Haynes, the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate in mathematics (and a DCPS teacher for half a century). After 15+ years of consistent growth, school administrators were entering a new phase of development and needed a visual brand system that expressed a refreshed, optimistic energy.
E.L. Haynes’ leadership felt it was important to refine their visual identity without losing elements of the brand that were important to the school community. We carefully refined the logomark to maintain the integrity of the initial design, while expanding the color palette and introducing angular color-blocking that is carried throughout the entire brand identity.
The three peaks in the original logomark represented elementary, middle, and high school—the three challenges every student must summit. In our refined logomark, we freed the mountain from its enclosing shape, allowing us to enlarge and emphasize these academic milestones.
The E.L. Haynes website design feels open and welcoming. The diagonal angles of the logomark are carried throughout the site, providing a dynamic web experience that feels uniquely their own.
It was important for the brand identity to maintain its integrity while expressing curiosity, playfulness, and energy. We developed an identity system with enough flexibility to carry that spirit consistently across every brand touchpoint.
We developed a campaign and a companion website, called 15 Years, 15 Stories, to celebrate E.L. Haynes’ history, impact, and accomplishments.
The campaign featured individuals, programs, and partners who shaped the school and its community since its founding in 2004. Fifteen portraits, illustrated by Jackie Lay, honored each story and served as the campaign’s visual anchor.
