Ready Education
Ready Education had grown through a series of mergers and acquisitions; the brand showed it. Five separate products, four markets, and no creative thread holding them together. The challenge was to establish a unified brand system that could sit credibly above all five products, without erasing the individual character each had built with their own audiences across North America, the UK, the Netherlands, and France.
The challenge
By 2024 Ready Education was a $20M+ ARR business operating as five brands: Ready Education, CampusGroups, AppScho, StuComm and myday, across North America, the UK, France and the Netherlands. Five identities, six websites and CMS platforms, and creative effort split five ways. The visual identity hadn't matured with the business, and the model wasn't sustainable.
The idea
Rather than start from zero, we built on the existing essence of all 5 brands and rebuilt around one principle: The students are at the centre of everything we do. The Ready Education identity held the most equity, so we drilled into it and extrapolated. The graduation cap became the anchor of the system, framing the student and the moment, and abstracted to illustrate progression and momentum towards success.
The system
We created a modern brand, honing in on the core colours but lightened and brightened into something bolder, extended with gradients. Figtree, a simple, fresh sans serif, was chosen to hold up across every touchpoint. The cap motif drove photography cut-outs, iconography and pattern. Motion guidelines were built from day one. Motion wasn't an afterthought, it was part of the brand.
The rollout
Six months from kick-off to launch. I led the identity and in conjunction with an web developement we launched a new website, combining 5 brands, all on different CMS systems into one. With a freelance designer supporting rollout across guides, social and templates. The site launched in July 2024 and the new creative followed across all and every touchpoints.
The outcome
Five brands became five products under one. Six websites and CMS platforms became one, with a clearer proposition, sharper messaging and real cost savings. A design system that could scale by the team. Well received internally and externally, the rebrand gave the business an identity that finally matched its scale.