Maple Bear Global Schools provide a high-quality preschool, elementary and high school education based on the Canadian philosophy and best practices that meet the expectations of global parents. The annual printed magazine provides the brand with a marketing tool to educate their existing and potential new parents by communicating their global nature and key market differentials.

The existing magazine design didn't accurately represent the brand; not visually or it's core values. The page designs were a bit uninspiring, lacking an overall flow and cohesion. An important priority for the re-design was to set up a new layout, working files and supporting brand guide, which can be shared with all franchise schools globally. Every school should feel empowered to add their own content to the existing issue. In some cases this means featuring content in other languages, alongside english.

As for the visual style of the magazine, we went back to the core of the Maple Bear Global Schools brand and intentionally added to it. Some of these additions included an expanded colour palette; dark navy and light blue, in addition to the existing red, black and gold; as well as two additional typefaces alongside the brand specific Helvetica. It was important that the magazine, despite offering education for children, not feel too childish. Ultimately, the brand's main goal is focused in academics. The content throughout the pages is cohesively laid out across the same grid, with enough room to play on every page to make the design feel fresh, approachable and inviting through custom icons, bold graphics, photography and plenty of pull quotes.

Since the magazine isn't a one-off issue, a lot of care and attention went into reviewing the content in a broader scope; what are one-off items, vs what content items may be repeated across issues. All of this was carefully outlined in a style guide for all the schools to review and future issues to be created with intention.

testimonial

Alicia carries a unique blend of strengths that are often very hard to find in a freelancer: creativity AND professionalism. From the details in her proposal to her emails, she is thorough and focussed on the task at hand. With clear communication, clear deadlines, and efficient project management, she kept our project on track.

We were impressed with Alicia’s ability to translate some of our complex requirements into a visually appealing and engaging design. This was exactly what we needed to mark our 20th-anniversary issue with a fresh, modern look. She demonstrated an incredible ability to understand our brand’s essence and translate it into a visually compelling format.

The most significant improvements resulting from our collaboration with Alicia include a complete transformation of our magazine’s design and reader experience. The fresh look and feel of the magazine have received tons of positive feedback from our global partners. The new design is modern, clean, and visually appealing, greatly enhancing readability and engagement. She even included a magazine-style guide, which allows us to recreate the magazine for future issues and supports our partners in replicating it for their own regions.

Our experience has shown that Alicia brings creativity, competence, and a deep understanding of design principles to the table. Working with Alicia is an investment in quality and excellence and will have a positive impact on your project.