NWEA, formerly the Northwest Evaluation Association, is a research-based, mission-driven organization that supports students and educators worldwide by providing assessment solutions, professional learning, and research. The organization is best known for its MAP Growth assessments, which are used by more than 12,400 districts across 149 countries. NWEA is now part of HMH, bringing together assessment and curriculum to empower educators and help kids learn. [1] [2]
Design and History
NWEA’s visual identity underwent a significant rebrand in 2019, led by design firm Ancona and Associates with Tyson Smith serving as design director. The rebrand was driven by a need to shed the company’s perception as the “old, boring, data guys” and establish a presence that matched its research and data capabilities. The project involved developing identities for both the corporate brand (NWEA) and its suite of educational products (MAP). [3] [4]
As part of the rebrand, the design team created secondary graphics called “Thought Collages,” collections of supporting graphics representing testing and measuring components found within the software. These compositions were configured based on the Fibonacci Golden Ratio formula, giving internal design resources a robust toolkit to extend the brand across applications, scales, and messaging. [4]
The rebrand also included a shift in the logo’s color from yellow to graphite, a change made to adhere to AA standards of accessibility. The NWEA logo is shown in graphite while the tagline appears in slate. [5]
Meaning and Symbolism
The rebrand was designed to convey a sense of approachability and clarity. One of NWEA’s key benefits is making it easy for both educators and students to process and act on test results. The design team removed unnecessary complexity so that information is always easy to understand, regardless of age or role within an organization. [4]
The brand also incorporated authentic photography and whimsical illustration to convey abstract concepts and dry content in an engaging way, moving away from stock photography to capture actual classrooms with real students. [3]
Typography and Design
The NWEA wordmark is a typographic logo that places the brand name at the center of the identity. The logo is designed to be shown in graphite, with the tagline “Believe in what’s possible” displayed in slate beneath the logo, often accompanied by a “NWEA color band.” [5]
The brand system was designed to live on a continuum of use, from minimum to maximum amounts of application. Most evergreen content uses minimal branding, while ever-changing social media content uses the most expressive form of the visuals. [6]
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