Alpha Omega Publications
The homeschool industry is growing. Fast.
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the percentage of homeschooled students from 1999 to 2007 increased by 74 percent, a 36 percent relative increase since 2003. And this trend isn’t slowing down, so what does this mean? It means the market is changing. While traditional homeschool brands could get by because their audience was relatively small, invested and knowledgable, that’s no longer the case. A larger target audience, comprised of a considerable number of first-timers with a new set of influencing factors, means brands have to rethink their communications if they want to be successful.
Alpha Omega Publications (AOP) is a leader in homeschool curriculums. And they’d like to stay that way. But in order to stay on top of their growing market, they needed a brand identity, web presence and product packaging that conveyed their approachable, empowering and passionate approach to Christian-focused homeschooling.
A brand that says, “By choosing AOP, you’ll find your student hard at work behind their desk.”
AOP believes in providing parents and students with quality materials that enhance not just their education, but also their life. Using the letters A, O and P, we designed a subtle, but clever treatment that serves as a bit of foreshadowing for potential homeschooling parents.
Beyond the logo, we developed a color palette full of vibrant, youthful colors that attract the eye and convey just who this curriculum is for. We also designed an icon set that applies the smart, colorful and minimalistic stylings of the logo to familiar education tools and subjects.
The Digital Experience
With a strong brand identity established, we focused our attention on bringing this vibrant, youthful energy to AOP’s website. With homeschoolers located across the country, this is AOP’s primary tool for selling their products to a wide mix of potential customers. The website had to make it easy for a seasoned homeschool parent to find and order what they needed in seconds, as well as be informative enough that new parents could survey their options, compare curriculum and make an informed decision based on their child.
A curriculum shopping experience that meets the needs of each type of visitor to the site.
Breathing some life back into the LIFEPAC.
Lastly, we worked with AOP to redesign the packaging and booklet layouts of their popular LIFEPAC curriculum.
Using the audience insights we gathered in the branding process, we created an engaging curriculum system, packaging and workbook design. The packaging draws in the consumer with eye-catching design, then gives them the information they need to make an informed decision. Once the purchase has been made, the booklet design works to enable better learning with intuitive page layouts, easily comprehensible illustrations and bountiful white space perfect for note taking.
But while our focus was on meeting the needs of LIFEPAC’s growing current and potential consumer base, we didn’t overlook the needs of production as well. By working closely with their fulfillment team, we designed packaging that makes the printing process as easy as A, B, C.
The Next Chapter
From the initial branding work to extensive web design to packaging and booklet layout, it had been awhile since we stepped back and observed how far the brand had come. We began with an identity, website and packaging that struggled to distinguish itself from a growing list of formidable competition, but what we finished with was anything but that.
A customer experience that's bold, youthful, and informed, just like AOP students.
