School Branding – Springfield School

School Branding – Springfield School Rebrand

The Brief

Springfield School is a coeducational community secondary school in Portsmouth, Hampshire. The new Headteacher commissioned us to rebrand the school because their dated visual identity was not in keeping with its modern values and aspirations.

Brand History

Portsmouth’s Coat of Arms & Springfield’s School logo before the rebrand

Springfield had been represented by a lion since its beginning as Manor Court School in the 1960s. Many schools in the Portsmouth area use rampant lions as emblems. This is probably due to a historical connection with King Richard I of England, also known as Richard the Lionheart.

King Richard granted the Town of Portsmouth its first charter in 1194. Richard had adopted a star and crescent symbol after a conquest in Cyprus. It is believed that the Town of Portsmouth adapted this symbol to use as its coat of arms in tribute to King Richard.

Our Design

Springfield School Branding – Lion Logo

We decided to retain a connection to the lion due to its legacy and history. With this in mind, our new logo design features a young leaping lion.

Our lion is springing forward, making a subtle spring-Springfield connection. In addition, the tail makes an ‘S’ for Springfield. At the crown, we placed a redesigned version of the famous Portsmouth eight-pointed star and crescent.

All things considered, the new leaping lion is symbolic of the school’s ethos and rebrand as a whole: the school is looking ahead to the future. Along with a new more exciting colour palette, the new lion is part of a bold change for the school’s identity.

With the logo approved, we went on to overhaul the entirety of the school’s visual communications from signage and stationery to the use of photography, the website and its social media pages.

The Client’s Response

‘We have found Shadric to be skilled at interpreting the client’s requirements accurately and then bringing an original and creative vision to each project. I particularly value the perfectionism and attention to detail that he brings to his design work; and also how he communicates with the client at each stage of the project’s development. We can highly recommend Toop Studio’s design work.’

Sara Spivey
Headteacher Springfield School