Name On Logo: American International School of Lesotho - or - AISL

No Slogan

The American International School of Lesotho is a small Pre-K through grade 8 school located on a quaint campus in Maseru, Lesotho.

We offer an American Style education, using American textbooks, curriculum materials, and instructional strategies, educating 150 students from 35 different nations around the globe.

The focus in on individual attention in a supportive, caring environment where children are nurtured and encouraged to become responsible world stewards and life-long learners.

Industry: Education

1. Our location in Lesotho, the Mountain Kingdom of Africa (please research images and culture of Lesotho: ex. http://www.africancrafts.com/lesotho.php)

2. U.S. government sponsorship / American character (subtle, perhaps through the use of color)

3. Community / Family Feel - a magical place!

Our primary target is the children (ages 3-14) / families of our community, and those considering joining us from more than 35 nations across the globe (diplomatic community, development and relief agencies, United Nations agencies, multinationals, local government officials and business leaders). Additionally, we are targeting caring, quality educators locally and globally to join our staff. Finally, we are seeking to distinguish ourselves among our colleagues at American and International schools across the continent and around the globe as a model of international education and global stewardship in a small school/developing nation setting.

Our student body having doubled in the past 3 years, with continued growth expected, the school is growing up, and seeking a more professional, updated brand than our current look: [Login to view URL] We are impressed by the branding of Colegio Nueva Granada in Bogota, Colombia (www.cng.edu) although as a smaller community, school, and younger student body would adjust the overall image slightly to fit our context.

We will entertain designs with either AISL, American International School of Lesotho, or both.

While we would like to communicate our American character. We now feel it is inappropriate to use the U.S. or Lesotho flag in our logo. Our American character could be communicated through the use of our school colors, red, white, and blue in the logo. We would very much like to have a logo inspired by our host culture - the most recognizable basotho icons would be the basotho hat, the basotho pony, and bushman cave painting (http://www.flickr.com/photos/24123874@N04/sets/72157622737564466/).

Upon deciding on a logo for the school, we will be using it as inspiration to update our website, school uniforms, signage, stationary, etc. We will also work from the logo to design a school seal and sports logo (using our mascot, the meerkat). The successful designer who has communicated an understanding of our context and an interest in partnering with us may be contracted independently to help our school build its brand.

(Web)  (Print Media)  (Billboards & Signs)  (Mugs & Tshirts) 

Current rankings reflect the preferences of the Admin Team of AISL. Unranked designs in their current form will most likely not be presented to the school's Steering Committee for further consideration.

New entries will continue to be considered for presentation to the school's Steering Committee through the scheduled end of the contest.

In general terms, the feedback from the Admin Team follows:

1) Simple is Best. With very few exceptions, the preferred format for the Logo should follow that of entries #64 and #82. The graphic element, either square, circle, or graphic item should appear to the left. "AISL", if included in the design, should appear on the graphic element itself, or directly underneath. "American International School of Lesotho" should match the relative font size and four line design utilized by Alan-Designer in his ranked designs. Ranked designers are also invited to rework their ranked designs to fit this format if appropriate.

2) Color. If more than one color is used, the color scheme should include a deep navy blue and a cooler shade of red. We prefer no more than three colors, plus black, white, or brown, in the final design.

3) Lesotho Feel. The Admin Team is disappointed that very few, if any designs captured the spirit and feeling of Lesotho - a place that is unlike any other on earth. The mountains are harsher, the climate colder, the landscape starker, and the people warmer than anywhere else in Africa. Photos were offered as a departure point, but to date, in spite of over 200 creative and diverse entries, no designer has, to our satisfaction, captured the feel of Lesotho, the number one thing we wished to communicate in our logo. This is perhaps due to our own ineptitude in providing feedback - after all we are novices in design. We strongly urge any and all designers who are not currently ranked to revisit our contest brief, google "Lesotho", and give it one more try!

(One image that never came out in any design: the Basotho on his Pony -
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Thanks to all of the creative, talented designers who have entered thus far. It has been a lot of fun working with each of you! And best of luck to all designers as the contest comes to a close. Further specific feedback will be offered to individual designers through the comments and further changes in rankings will be viewed on the contest page and personally announced to ranked designers through private messages as they occur.