How do you create a new look for a decades-old institution that connects a rich legacy to future ambitions, while authentically capturing the voices of students, employees and partners who know us best?
You trust the task to award-winning Wider Horizons designer and Lethbridge Polytechnic Brand and Media Design Manager Dana Woodward and his team of designers whose hands and eyes are on every institutional ad, poster and publication. To capture the voice of stakeholders, you tag team with Director of Marketing, Communications,Alumni and Engagement Leeanne Conrad, who connected with more than 500 former, current and potential students, employees and partners to share their feedback over snacks and pizza at 22 consultation sessions over the span of nearly three months.
From every session, Woodward tweaked and iterated and winnowed from a dozen options to three, then two, until one design managed to capture who, where and what we are.
Our new logo features southern Alberta’s landscape, our familiar, distinctive colour scheme, a strong shape that speaks to inclusivity and belonging, and the symbolic representation of a teepee ring in honour of our place on the traditional lands of the Blackfoot Confederacy.
The final design was kept under wraps until Oct. 23 when Minister of Advanced Education Rajan Sawhney visited campus to join students in an unveiling.
Lethbridge Polytechnic’s logo reflects our connection to the communities and landscape of southern Alberta.
Since the beginning, we’ve been an institution forged to meet the needs of our community. We were born out of innovative and creative thinking. We became Canada’s first publicly funded community college in 1957 to meet the needs of southern Albertans. Our focus on students’ needs has not changed. We support and prepare those who look to us for learning, opportunity and belonging. Together, we shape communities for the better.
- The arch represents the coulees, while the peaks represent our neighbouring Rocky Mountains and echo the architecture of Centre Core. The blue-green colour gradient in the logo and throughout our branding signifies our connection to the land and sky. The smooth transition between hues alludes to ongoing changes in society, the economy and students’ needs – and our responsiveness to those changes.
- The circle symbolizes our inclusive and supportive institution and our reputation for providing a sense of belonging. A recent survey shows that 90 per cent of our graduating students feel they belong at our institution, compared to 76 per cent of their peers at university. (Canadian University Survey Consortium 2024 Graduating Student Survey)
- The border represents a teepee ring, and can also be found painted on the Val Matteotti Gymnasium floor. This represents our commitment to honouring our place on Blackfoot Territory.
- The text is bold, balanced and with a strong foundation representative of our over 65 years of post-secondary education in Alberta.
If you have a connection to Lethbridge Polytechnic or its earlier iterations, drop by the Bookstore to check out the new stock. You might still be able to catch “vintage” Lethbridge College deals while they last. And watch the video from our logo launch at: lethpolytech.ca/our-polytechnic
