Creating Classroom Change
Midtown Martial Arts is located in my home town of Elburn, IL. As a student there I was inspired by the teachings and other students, but noticed the large seal of the school in the dojang was not reflecting what I was learning. I brought up this messaging concern with the owners and teachers, Master Kim Cote and Cam Cote. They had inherited the branding from the previous owner which had a different brand vision of the school so they were open to creative change. The school seal is also symbolic because it is stitched over the heart of every uniform.
Deep meaning needed to go into the new branding that related to the main teaching in class which is Taekwondo and to the ten tenets of the school. With these explorations the brand was designed with the most grand mountain Taebek in Korea, the home of Taekwondo. The mountain also symbolizes natural strength in the journey. The ten tenets are shown as dots or stars in the sky in colors of the ten longevities of a long life.
From the patch to the website, the branding continued. Midtown’s website is the main form of communication from teacher to student. The previous website was hard to manage with too many pages and also hard for students, parents, or potential students to quickly see what was needed most. I redesigned the website with the font, colors, and elements from the new branding. A simplified, one page website was designed showing clear messaging for the audience and easy updating for the client.
Personal photography of a business is important in the age of stock photography. I photographed different events throughout the year for populating the gallery on the website.
During different community events throughout the year, a well-branded PowerPoint was needed. The PowerPoint shows the span of services with engaging photography. Midtown places a large computer display on a table at events or has the option to project on a screen in a larger venue.
One campaign that was initiated was for tots class. Photography during tots class helped show children in action along with instructors helping. Handouts were created and placed at local preschools and entry way to the building. Social assets were created as well.
Since this business has a hallway where parents can wait for their kids or where adults can hang out, wall art illustrations were created to carry the brand into the environment. Illustrations were created for Kim, Cam, the Kukkiwon, and the 10 tenets. These posters are a great source of inspiration for both owners and students. The illustrations carried over to the website header to give texture and depth to the feel of the business.
Branding systems are different for different businesses so some other items that other businesses may need are not needed by other businesses. I find what is essential branding for the business and their audience.
David is such a wonderful artist. No matter what kind of crazy project I give to him, he always comes up with the perfect interpretation and design. His artwork hangs on our walls, his digital works have been turned into my tattoos, and he even maintains and updates our webpage for us. Such a wonderful guy to know and do business with. Can’t recommend David enough for any project you may have. – Cam Cote
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