Design with Purpose

Keeping your marketing simple and focused

Effective marketing is more important than ever for schools and colleges. Whether you’re creating a new prospectus, refreshing social media graphics, or developing banners for display around the site, the key to success is to focus on your audience’s key priorities and to utilise design that supports the information being shared.

As a school leader, you may find yourself responsible for overseeing marketing decisions. This may be well outside your area of expertise, so understanding some core principles will help you make better choices and get the most from your marketing materials.

Know Who You’re Talking To

Before you get into the detail of what is to be created, think carefully about your audience. Who are you needing to speak to and what do they want to know?

  • For prospectuses your audience might be parents of students in Year 5 or 6 thinking about secondary school. Or it may be GCSE students and their parents as they look towards sixth form. Each group will be looking for different things.
  • You may choose to promote your school or raise awareness of events by using social media. The graphics you use will play a significant role in determining the effectiveness. Be clear about who each post is aimed at and make sure that you understand which platforms will work best for which audience
  • You may also use vinyl banners near the site entrance or in other prominent local locations to raise awareness of the time and date of open evenings. In this format there is no time for detail – keep things as simple as possible.
  • At open evenings you may use roller banners to share information and help people to navigate the site. At this point the audience is already in the building – they don’t need to be convinced to visit. They need helpful, reassuring information that adds to their experience.

It’s tempting to try to aim your communication at as broad a range of people as possible. However, often the result of aiming for everyone is that you aren’t focussed on anyone. You’ve missed the mark. If you have more than one group to speak to – e.g. both parents and students – target them with separately with messages designed specifically for each group.

Less is More

You don’t need to share every detail of your curriculum, facilities, ethos and exam results into a single piece of marketing. In fact, doing so can be off-putting and overwhelming.

Instead, aim for clarity and simplicity:

  • Use headlines and short sentences to communicate the key messages.
  • Stick to one or two strong images that support the message, rather than trying to showcase everything at once.
  • Use subheadings and bullet points to break up lengthy sections of text – it will help people to read and take in the information you’ve shared with them.
  • Don’t cram too much in. You don’t get more value by filling every bit of space available. Using blank space within a design can draw attention to key points and make it feel less overwhelming to read detailed information.

It’s easy to try to share everything you have to say all at once. The result? Overwhelmed readers and muddled messages. Start by thinking: What does this person need to know right now? Then keep it focused on just that.

Design That Supports the Message

Good design isn’t just about looking pretty. It’s about helping the viewer understand what you’re saying, quickly and clearly.

  • Choose fonts that are easy to read – avoid anything too fussy or decorative.
  • Stick to your school’s colour palette, but use it with purpose: bold colours can help draw the eye to key information. But use them sparingly – if every element is demanding attention, nothing will stand out.
  • Provide a route to guide people as they read. Good design will steer the reader from one item to the next rather than having multiple elements all fighting for their attention.
  • Be consistent. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t room for variety or flexibility – in fact things will quickly get boring if everything is the same. But all the different elements you share should recognisably come from the same place.

If you’re working with a designer or agency, give them a clear brief. Who the piece is for, what it needs to achieve, and what the most important messages are. The better the brief, the better the result. Don’t worry – they should be prepared to discuss this with you and help to develop the brief if you’re unsure.

Think About the Journey

Marketing is a journey, not a one-off event. Parents who are in the initial stages of choosing their child’s Primary School don’t need to know where uniforms can be bought from – that information can come later. At this stage they want to know that their child will be safe and happy and that they’ll achieve their potential. And similarly, a student in Year 6 isn’t ready to dive into details of subject choices for GCSE options – that seems like it’s years away!

Match your content to the stage of the decision-making process your audience is at. Think about how you might:

  • Introduce your school to new families with a friendly, visual prospectus.
  • Keep your school top-of-mind with regular, engaging social media posts.
  • Support the perception that is built at events with signage and literature shared when they visit.

Each item should play a part in the bigger picture – and that picture should always come back to your audience’s needs.

And finally…

As with great teaching, the best school marketing is built on empathy: understanding what your audience needs, when they need it, and delivering it clearly. Keep things simple, stay focused, and don’t be afraid to leave things out if they’re not essential.

A well-designed prospectus or social post won’t just look good – it will work. And that’s what good design is all about.

If you’d like to discuss how you can implement this advice in your marketing, please get in touch