Shawnigan Lake School

Challenge

Designing a valuable and accessible presentation of Shawnigan’s history

In 2016, Shawnigan Lake School would celebrate 100 years of shaping young minds. It was an excellent opportunity to capture this remarkable Western Canadian school’s vibrant history – and to rally alumni and their parents around a bright future ahead. In preparation of their anniversary, our challenge was to write a compelling book that unveils Shawnigan’s detailed history, as chronicled in Rough Diamond: An Oral History of Shawnigan Lake School.

The book was to be emotionally evocative, to highlight the most riveting anecdotes and feature the most captivating images. It would be more than just an engaging story; it would be a strategic tool and highly accessible presentation of Shawnigan’s history that would bring tangible value to the school by:

deepening loyalty and pride amongst alumni, bringing a renewed sense of membership in the Shawnigan community;
ensuring core values are passed down to the next generation of faculty and leaders by describing the lineage of visionary, focused and inspirational models of leadership in the context of powerful stories. Research has proven that people learn better from stories about role models who embody and model values than from trying to adhere to a conventional mission or values statement;
recruiting new students and faculty;
thanking VIP visitors to the school or other organizations around the world on leadership visits; and
enabling Shawnigan to re-purpose elements of the story in presentations, speeches, collateral marketing material, on the website and in a media package

Solution

Finding the right balance to honour Shawnigan Lake’s essence: long-standing traditions and warm, welcoming culture

To bring this school’s centennial story to life, we produced an engaging, full-colour coffee-table book that maximizes the school’s well established brand. We even got to spend a few days at the school, going through archives and hearing stories. We ate lunch in the hall and got to immerse ourselves in the culture. We were struck by how much everyone loved Shawnigan Lake and how polite, smart, and outgoing the students we met were.

Bold use of Shawnigan yellow, grey and black, along with a playful use of a classic serif type, created the right balance of traditional and playful. A bounty of stunning archival photographs added layers to the storytelling and ensured each spread was a striking and harmonious ode to the school’s spirit.

Flip through the pages, and you’ll come across various playful combinations throughout the book … the emblematic colours adding surprising pops of colour to balance with narrative and black and white imagery. It’s fun, dynamic, and stays true to Shawnigan’s brand principles.

Result

A campaign that raised $46 million

This book was a cornerstone element of a four-year centennial campaign that also launched a speakers series, a series of themed videos around sports and arts festivals, and a number of special events at the school. The centennial campaign raised $46 million. Check out the book for yourself here.

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