APEX Primary

Client
Islamic education in the UK is at a turning point. Finely balanced between the aspirations of parents who desire to have an outstanding Islamic grounding for their children, and wider awareness of the role of Islamic institutions in promoting positive multicultural communities and developing the role of Islam at the forefront of learning, business and social life in the UK. In recent years newly-founded schools have become centres of excellence in both education and Islamic values and are increasing valued as vital to the Ummah of the UK.
Apex Primary school has an ambitious vision, meeting the needs of its pupils, exceeding educational norms and developing Muhasabah as a primary route to embedding Qur’anic values in the students.

Brief
Apex Primary school sought a website, logo and brand identity that supported its status as a premier and outstanding school teaching Islamic values. Any school requires clarity about principles, effective communication of its prospectus and an attractive and easy to use portal for potential and actual parents. Apex Primary had additional requirements, relating to its ambition to be a leading centre of Islamic education in a busy inner city environment.

Agency
Damask Media understood the blend of requirements necessary to create an effective brand identity for a small but highly focused and effective school in a major city. Balancing the necessary components to create a brand identity, logo and website for Apex Primary School meant finding an identity that worked for many audiences: parents, governers, prospective parents, children themselves, the wider Islamic community and the wider educational community.
Deep engagement, active listening and an awareness of the needs of each stakeholder group allowed Damask Media to construct an online persona for the school that accurately portrayed its ambitions and daily practices.

Outcome
Apex Primary school’s logo combines a simple image with a clear statement of values and intent. The colour ways are carried through the schools brand identity to give clear and coherent emotional resonances: stability, purity and clarity, which relate very clearly to the school’s focus on Muhasabah as a key criterion for a balanced personal life and the integrity of linking Muslim values to educational attainment. Whilst the logo offers simplicity to young viewers, its values statement is a challenging call to action for adult viewers, thus supporting both parts of the community in their very different roles.
The website is both a prospectus for potential parents and pupils and a portal for parents to obtain information about the school and its timetables. The absolute simplicity of the site, and ease of use, were vital when designing something that will be used by many hundreds of people as their first point of engagement with the school. As a result, Damask Media focused on a friendly presence, straightforward systems and easy to update content sections for the school timetable, curriculum and events.