Hildegard College
Hildegard is a new kind of college: intentionally small and community-focused, with just one degree in Classics and Entrepreneurship, launching in 2023. I started helping right at the beginning, when they needed an initial visual identity before launching their first student events and donor pitches. In just two weeks, I developed a logo, visual system, and drafted a full website.
Logo
I wanted to give the new college an immediate sense of respectability, so I stuck with an elegant serif font and a shield-shaped logo, like so many established colleges use.
I divided the shield into three parts. On top, the yellow rays represent the light of divine illumination. On the left, blue vertical stripes represent Classics and contemplative thought. On the right, pink and red horizontal stripes represent Entrepreneurship and the active life.
I also designed an HC Monogram as a secondary logo.
Identity
I built a palette based on the logo for the different voices of the college, made sub-brands for Classics and Innovation, and made a treatment of “The Hildegard Difference” for recruiting and donor communication.
Website
I also mocked up a design for their website, and built a draft framework on Squarespace for them to revise and refine, with all the custom graphic elements pre-loaded in.
Website
Other Mockups
To help them imagine how to deploy the identity further, I made a number of mockups of possible implementations, like this mockup of a layout for a college magazine.
Magazine Cover Layout Mockup (with filler image)
Training & Support
After all the design files were delivered, I trained the college staff on how to use them, even though none of them had regular access to design software. In the following months, I reengaged for occasional consulting or to design an itemthat they felt unable to finish alone, until the Hildegard team was fully independent.
It was exhilarating to move so quickly to help get this meaningful venture off the ground. I can’t wait to see where Hildegard College goes.