BARR Center

Committed to creating equitable schools, BARR Center believes every student should have access to a high quality education.

Building Assets, Reducing Risks

BARR is a national school improvement network delivering positive results in more than 170 schools across the country. Schools within the BARR Network harness the power of data and relationships to empower all students to thrive inside and outside the classroom.

The projects we do for BARR focus on their bright optimism for the future of education. We help them tell their story with typography, color, and illustration to create a package of design assets that highlight their mission and love of learning.

Strategy Icons

The work for BARR began with a suite of icons for each of their eight strategies. The interlocking strategies build intentional relationships, utilize real-time data, and enable schools to achieve concrete academic, social, and emotional outcomes for all students. The visuals for each were designed within a simple and direct linework aesthetic and then worked into a hexagon shape to create a system. There were various treatments depending on where the icon gets used, either very small or more prominent. 

When implementing a strategy at a school, the BARR model allows for customization depending on the needs presented by specific challenges being faced. The use of the icons allowed for varied configurations to show which strategies were being utilized at the school. 

The icons were included in the design of a new website and added to print materials provided to administrators and teachers. 

Refine & Build

The BARR Model allows teachers to focus on building relationships with students to access their strengths and areas for growth. During the process of designing and building a new website, led by Lucas Fleischer, we took the opportunity to refine current brand assets. The logo was tightened up to be geometrically precise. Color builds were slightly adjusted to solid numbers and the typography was modernized. No major changes, just enough of a professional touch to allow for more ongoing consistency, from print to web.

Once the new assets were set, we designed a couple posters for teachers to hang in their classrooms for daily inspiration. 

Celebrating 20 Years

For the 2019 National Conference, we created materials to get people excited about supporting the BARR model long into the future. Teachers supporting students, students supporting teachers. Because at the end of the day, it’s all about the relationships we forge in order to make education all that it can be for the educators and the learners involved.

An ongoing collaboration with design contributions from Lucas Fleischer, Andrea Trew, Megan Monismith, Adam Casey, and Matt Carlson.

2017–Present: Design Direction, Graphic Design, Iconography, Illustration, Social

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