One giant leap

Stepping Stones Montessori School does a fantastic job of preparing children to be lifelong learners. As is the case with so many educational institutions, however, the school’s small paid staff and volunteer board found themselves stretched thin. As a result, their strategic planning efforts have lacked consistency and focus.

Stepping Stones needed a partner to help distill their core message, identify their primary audiences, and tighten up their communications materials. They also needed a website, which is where our conversations with them began. 

The colorful circles that replace the Os in the Stepping Stones Montessori School word mark represent stones. The mark uses a classic, modern typeface to suggest a strong foundation, while the natural, spectral color progression is a way of depicting the transitions that are part of the school’s program. Color choices were meant to feel happy and be attractive to young moms.

Our work resulted in a consistent message focused on the value of lifelong learning and a strong graphic identity that could be applied across all materials. “The experience of working with Peopledesign was more than we expected,” said Elizabeth Topliffe, vice president of the Stepping Stones board. “We went in thinking we needed a website, and left feeling like we had gotten so much more than we expected – but exactly what we needed.”