Amy Biehl High School

empowering a school to elevate communities.

What We Did.

Brand Strategy
Logo / Identity
Brand Refresh
Website
Language & Messaging
Environment Materials
Online Video
Photography
Collateral

coloring outside the lines.

Founded in 1999, Amy Biehl High School is Albuquerque’s oldest public charter school. Named after a young activist who lost her life championing human rights, the school’s mission is rooted in community empowerment, social justice, and the belief that excellence in education should be accessible to everyone.

Historically, enrollment hadn’t been a challenge. But the COVID-19 pandemic, expanding school choice, and declining birth rates had all taken a toll on the school’s enrollment numbers. The school asked us for help creating a strategic marketing plan and materials to enhance their relevancy and reach to attract Albuquerque families to their school.

strategic problem solving.

Discovery sessions revealed a strong, tight-knit community with a passion for helping students reach their highest potential—and a brand that was failing to reflect who they truly are. An outdated identity and website and sporadic marketing materials were unsuccessful in capturing and converting families. A challenged budget that relied on intermittent donations, per-student state funding, and grant applications made communications efforts even more difficult.

A strong brand identity is critical to aligned and effective outreach. We started by evolving their logo to create a more polished mark that retains the school’s original mascot and recognizability while conveying a more authentic look and feel, and making it work harder across an array of media. A refreshed typeface transformed their all-caps font to a solid, lowercase font, communicating a humble confidence that challenges traditional hierarchies and symbolizes equality. We refocused the school’s identity, pulling inspiration from its lion mascot and drawing on the strength of a pride to reflect the school’s values of courage, leadership, and community. A new tone of voice repositioned the school as bold, intelligent, innovative and nurturing—a proud trailblazer in education.

A new website, the school’s digital “campus” and a prospective family’s first introduction to Amy Biehl High School, mirrors the heart and mission of the school while providing a more user-friendly site for those first discovering ABHS, as well as an easily navigable resource for current students, parents, and faculty. A hero video, the user’s first touchpoint on the homepage, expresses their hands-on, inclusive educational style and sets the tone for the rest of the users’ journey.

An eye-catching backdrop and booklet were designed to attract and inform at school choice fairs and events, while new stationery and presentation template align the new brand with the faculty and staff’s needs.