A brand identity and wayfinding system for a new urban academy
UDA needed to stand out within a large public district while staying welcoming and credible—delivered through a scalable identity and branded environment.
Client
Urban Discovery Academy (UDA)
Sector
Education (Public School / Urban District)
Role
Brand Designer, Environmental Graphic Designer (EGD)
Creative Services
Brand Identity, Branded Environments, Environmental Graphics & Wayfinding
INSIGHT
Educational organizations in urban districts often struggle to express a sense of community empowerment and creativity within institutional constraints. Their brand identities can appear overly formal, missing the opportunity to connect emotionally with young learners and local families.
CHALLENGE
Urban Discovery Academy (UDA), a newly founded educational institution, sought to distinguish itself within the San Diego Unified School District. The school needed a brand identity that would reflect its mission; to motivate children to become active, creative problem solvers, and resonate with a diverse urban community. The challenge lay in designing environmental graphics that felt both academically credible and playfully inspiring, fostering pride and participation among students, parents, and educators alike.
OUTCOME
Designed a brand identity system that built awareness, boosted engagement and solidified relationships by embodying curiosity, optimism, and inclusivity through whimsical typography, vibrant color palettes, and dynamic illustrations. Partnered with UDA’s founders to add value by bringing clarity that solidified the brand positioning, and established a built environment and wayfinding system that brought the brand identity to life in vivid, multi-dimensional ways. Creating highly usable brand experiences that were engaging and memorable in an educational environment that distinguished the space. The resulting brand identity and evironment brought the academy’s values to life by encouraging play, exploration, and community connection.
RESULTS
UDA launched with a distinctive identity and branded environment that strengthened recognition and pride across students, families, and educators. The combined brand + EGD system helped the academy stand out within the district while reinforcing a sense of belonging, creativity, and community ownership throughout the space.
REFLECTION
This project reinforced that brand identity is most powerful when it becomes an experience people can feel—not just a logo. Designing for a school community required balancing credibility with warmth, and building systems that work across stakeholders, budgets, and real-world constraints. I strengthened my ability to translate mission-driven values into scalable visual frameworks and to use environmental design to improve both navigation and emotional connection in a space.