Mascot Design, Logo Design
Lower Merion High School
Developing a Unified Identity
Brand Strategy & Identity
Overview
For more than two decades we’ve supported Lower Merion School District as they refined their brand identity. For years Lower Merion High School dealt with the challenge of their dueling mascots — the “Aces” and the “Bulldogs.” Lower Merion tasked Iris with finding a solution to this challenge.
Merging Mascots
To help Lower Merion High School deal with the challenge of their two team names, we came up with the solution to merge the two ideas into one. Creating a single school mascot — a Bulldog named Ace. His Ace of Spades dog tag has been spun off into an icon of its own.
Creating Support for the New Mascot
Changing a school mascot is an emotional, not only for the staff and students, but the alumni as well. Over time the community has come to love Ace and the spade symbol. NBA star and Lower Merion alum Kobe Bryant even used both the Bulldog and the Ace icons on his Nike Lower Merion commemorative shoes.
Beyond the Mascot
In addition to the mascot logo for sports usage, we created a simplified LM version of the logo. This simplified version of the logo for business and academic purposes. We also created an academic seal that could be used on more official documents.
Creating Pride in the Community
During our work together, the two district high schools were rebuilt to create schools of equal size. This created tension about the loss “the way things were.” We worked with the Community Relations Department to produce messaging throughout the construction to communicate with the community about the need for the work and opportunities that would come. Over time, the community not only accepted the new school, they share their pride.
How Can We Help?
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