Saint Matthew’s Episcopal School came to me with a desire to update their brand. They wanted something clean and professional that would encompassed both the school and the Episcopal Church.  Education and Faith. They also were set on keeping their crest but wanted to change the imagery to something less literal/clipart.  Their previous logo was in in a spiraling script/serif mix with a crest that had clipart representing their motto– mind, body and soul.  

I begin this project researching the Episcopal church and the symbolism behind their cross. I looked into the importance of a crest–the significance of were things were place on the crest and the symbolism behind color.  In my research, I came across  how blacksmiths original made shields and how designs were communicated to them. Since not many blacksmiths or artist of those times could read or write, colors and order of importance were communicated by patterns of lines and symbols.  

The new shield represents mind, body and spirit through color symbolism, and history. SMES not only rebranded, they also took my research to create a lesson plan to teach their students about the Episcopal cross, the symbolism in their crest and medieval times shield making.