School is a gateway to world's knowledge. Everything the world is, empirically and scientifically, can be studied at school. This is why the visual style and language of POKOLENIE School has to be universal and able to scale to any discipline, phenomenon, or situation.

In order to create a branding so encompassing, one had to revert back to the simplest forms: circles, squares, triangles. Much like a child's toy set, these geometrical shapes are the building blocks to model and explain real life's most complex phenomena.

By employing a limited palette and a selection of shapes, we were able to create a dynamic identity that can scale and give birth to new visuals and forms.

The Identity was born out of geometrical shapes and lines.

The intention was to evolve the style organically and treat it as a "living, breathing system", not unlike a natural language.

First, the logo was designed with each Cyrillic letter of the word 'POKOLENIE' corresponding to a discipline, a natural phenomenon, a technological feat, or a scientific discovery.

Next, each element of the logo was stripped down to basic shapes and forms.

These elements, just like phonemes in a language, were reassembled into icons, patterns, images, and stories that might be inserted into a classroom or a book and hosted on posters, backpacks, and t-shirts.

The final addition was the school's own alphabet —or rather, a substitution cipher where Cyrillic letters were replaced with shapes and lines for students to communicate in their special code. The idea was for the students to continue using the Identity and evolve it further.

The Identity was introduced and adopted on September 1 as the new school year began.

The results of a school-wide poll indicated that the Identity was universally acclaimed by the students and staff, with particular praise directed to its modern look and application in school-related supplements, such as the t-shirts, badges, and documentation.

Following the branding of school and its social media, school's board reported a 32% increase in prospective students' interest, including new applications and interviews with parents.

The adoption of the new identity gave rise to the school board's plans for a new, larger school building to be constructed from the ground-up in accordance with the new Brand Identity.

The school board indicated that the new Brand not only became an epitome of the POKOLENIE school's values but a continuation and inspiration for its modern approach to education and progress.

The Brand Identity had to be relevant, family-friendly, and universally appealing, since the target audience consisted of students, parents, and teachers.

POKOLENIE means 'generation' in Russian, and the school had to represent the current generation — not only of its students, but also of education, culture, technology, style, and design.

This is why the approach that was ultimately chosen can be described as 'minimalist' and 'flat'.

Adhering to cleaner and more simplistic guidelines, the Identity boasts rich colours, typography-first templates, and playful icons inspired by Soviet-era children magazines and toy sets, known and loved by parents and widely regarded as collector's items among today's youth in Russia.

POKOLENIE* is a private school in Volgograd, Russia, for students aged between 8 and 17.

The school is considered unorthodox by Russian standards, with smaller classes comprised of 5 — 8 people, and curriculum that introduces such disciplines as yoga, critical-thinking and philosophy to younger students. The school's main objective is to allow students to evolve at their own pace and in wherever direction they might have chosen.

The school is a non-profit organisation supported by the Trust of parents and educators. It has no government or education backing, and relies heavily on the word of mouth in order to reach parents and new students.

The lack of any branding or marketing lead to an impromptu brief for a Brand Identity, with the goal of communicating the school's values and non-standard approach.

'The branding has to be congenial to the School itself'.

*'Generation' in Russian