Escola is a Swiss software company based in Zurich that develops web-based tools for school administration, communication, and classroom management. The company was formerly known as Schulwebsite before rebranding to Escola, a change that came with a complete visual identity overhaul led by designer Henry Gillis.
Design and History
Escola’s roots trace back roughly 15 years before its 2022 anniversary celebration, when founder Hannes Bärtschi built a website for a school where his father taught. The company operated as Schulwebsite GmbH for years before the name change to Escola, which occurred around five years after Janick Pfenninger joined as a business partner. The rebranding was driven by a need for a more professional presence as the company grew beyond its original scope.[1][2]
Henry Gillis was commissioned to rebrand the company from scratch, developing the logo, branding assets, custom illustrations and icons, and a components-based website. The project aimed to appeal to a broad customer base including teachers, IT administrators, and students, while representing the personal and friendly connection the owners share with their customers.[3]
Meaning and Symbolism
The final logo mark shows the letter “E” in negative space, nestled inside an open bracket with a colon, both symbols used heavily in programming. This design choice symbolically incorporates what the company does: developing software. The mark also has a playful quality, as it resembles two eyes peeking over a wall.[3]
Gillis explored multiple directions during the logo refinement process, playing with the letter “E” while incorporating programming-related symbolism. The color pattern was established early in the process, as the team felt it represented Escola best.[3]
Typography and Design
Beyond the primary logo, Gillis developed mini-branding for five distinct Escola products, each aimed at different target audiences and use cases. The challenge was to visually separate the products while maintaining a common thread, which was solved through a bold color scheme and logos made of three elements for each mini-brand.[3]
The illustration style for the brand was developed through several iterations, landing on a friendly, playful, and minimal approach. Illustrations representing different user groups are personal and close-up, while header illustrations use a top-down view as if peeking into a microcosm.[3]
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