Loretto School
Rebranding Tradition for Tomorrow

Client Overview

Loretto School is one of Scotland’s leading independent co-educational day and boarding schools. Set on an 85-acre campus in Musselburgh, East Lothian, just six miles from Edinburgh, it combines heritage, academic excellence and a strong sense of community.

Project Brief

Loretto approached Mr Smith Creative looking for a full brand refresh. Their existing identity felt dated and no longer reflected the school’s ambition or position in a competitive private education sector.

The brief was broad: reimagine the brand identity, redesign the prospectuses, revamp the website, and create a suite of marketing materials that would reflect both tradition and progress.

Creative Approach

From the outset, it was clear this would be a balancing act. Loretto’s brand history stretches back centuries, and certain elements – such as the red colour and the Loretto crest – were considered untouchable.

The creative challenge was to preserve this legacy while introducing a more contemporary visual language. We aimed to project a sense of confidence, clarity and character, without losing the school’s traditional roots.

Design and Delivery

A new wordmark was developed using a refined serif typeface. This subtle design choice nodded to classicism while feeling fresh and current.

We expanded the colour palette to introduce deep aubergine tones. These gave the brand more depth and helped the signature red stand out with purpose.

The new identity was rolled out across all touchpoints – including signage, the school website, printed prospectuses and video content. A brand toolkit was created using Canva, enabling the in-house team to produce professional marketing materials quickly and consistently.

Results

The rebrand received an enthusiastic response from staff, pupils and parents. Early indicators show a noticeable uplift in engagement, with increased enquiries and applications since the new identity launched.