EIC Education Identity Upgrade: Writing "I & U" into an Education Brand

One iU, five meanings

In 2015, Xinming Design upgraded the logo and visual identity of EIC Education (启德教育) for Guangdong Qide Education Service Co., Ltd. The old logo was an "EiC 启德教育" wordmark with the line "study-abroad services, overseas training"; the new one is a figure set on a 45 degree angle: a lowercase i with its dot on the left and a U on the right, which together also form the letter E from three parallel strokes. The proposal writes its origin as an equation, E+I+C, book, I&U, letter E: it is the brand name EIC, a thick book, and "I and you". The primary colours are a blue-green gradient, with orange and red as secondary colours. The work covered the core identity and applications, and the logo is still in use.

From a signboard to a symbol

EIC Education is an international education provider whose work covers study-abroad advice and applications, language test preparation, international curricula and study tours. By 2015, its business had grown from study-abroad services into a fuller international education chain.

The old logo combined the letters "EiC" with 启德教育, with "study-abroad services, overseas training" underneath. It explained the business clearly, but it worked more like a business sign:

· No standalone symbol, so it was hard to build a single memory at small sizes, on screens and across many branches;

· A business description too narrow for the new business, since "study-abroad services, overseas training" no longer covered the full scope;

· Little warmth, since it said what the company did, but not how it treated students.

An education brand's logo has to do two seemingly opposite things at once: be rigorous enough for parents and students to trust, and warm enough that people want to come closer.

Three threads: a book, I and you, an initial

Before drawing the logo, the proposal laid out three threads:

· The shape of a book: a thick volume, standing for education itself;

· "I and you" caring education: a teacher and students side by side, standing for companionship and communication;

· The initial letter: scrabble tiles spelling E, D, U, C, A, T, E, starting from the name.

The three threads end in one figure, which the proposal writes as an equation: E+I+C (EIC GROUP) + BOOK + I&U (COMMUNICATE) + LETTER E.

Five feelings in one mark

The proposal sets down five "emotions of the mark", each a way of reading it:

1. 45 degrees, looking up. "The mark looks up at the sky at 45 degrees, expressing the company's high aspirations." Every stroke runs at the same angle, giving the mark an upward, forward motion.

2. EIC, one structure. "The overall structure is an isomorphic design that merges the letters EIC: the whole forms an E, combined with the I and C within it … expressing integration and unity." The mark is tied directly to the brand name, not a generic figure that could belong to any institution.

3. Rigour is care. "Education is about rigour, and rigour is care, just as every proportion of the mark is drawn to strict geometric rules." In the construction drawing, the width, rounding and spacing of each stroke are fixed by geometry.

4. A thick book. "On top of the overall E, the form also resembles a thick book, showing the nature of the education sector directly." The curved bases of the three strokes read like stacked pages.

5. I and U. "Another feeling can be read in I and U: you and I make us." The i is "I" and the u is "you": education is not one-way instruction but communication and companionship between the institution, teachers and students.

"Rigour is care" is the most interesting line about this mark. In most brands, reason and warmth are forces to be balanced; in EIC's mark, geometric precision is itself treated as a form of care: being responsible to students starts with getting every detail right.

The mark is its own supporting graphic

The fourth "emotion" in the proposal also says: "a good mark is itself a supporting graphic." That is exactly how the supporting graphics were derived:

· Step one, from solid to line: the solid iU mark is turned into an outline version;

· Step two, from line to pattern: the outline mark is repeated to form a pattern that can extend without end.

The pattern appears on envelope linings, cups, umbrellas and walls, so the brand can be recognised without showing the full logo every time.

Blue-green for trust, orange-red for passion

The primary colours are a blue-green gradient, with the keywords Hope and Tolerant; the secondary colours are orange and red, with the keywords Energy and Passionate. The orange of the old logo is kept as a secondary colour, carrying over existing colour memory.

The two groups have a clear division of labour in use. Blue-green is used for the logo, wordmarks and stationery, conveying an international outlook and trust; on storefronts, offices, exhibition stands, polo shirts, umbrellas and the annual report, orange comes forward as the large background colour. To parents, the brand speaks of trust; to students, of enthusiasm.

The English wordmark EIC EDUCATION and the Chinese 启德教育 were both given a geometric treatment, with angled stroke ends echoing the 45 degree structure of the mark, so wordmarks and symbol work as one.

Deliverables and extensions

Core visual identity

· EIC Education iU mark and construction drawing

· English wordmark EIC EDUCATION, Chinese wordmark 启德教育 and bilingual lockup rules

· Brand colours: blue-green gradient primary (Hope, Tolerant), orange-red secondary (Energy, Passionate)

· Colour variations of the mark

· Supporting graphics: outline version and repeating pattern

Applications

· Envelopes, letterhead, business cards and other stationery

· Cups, polo shirts, umbrellas and other branded items

· Storefront signs and outdoor lightbox posters

· Annual report and brochure layouts

· Office walls, exhibition stands, roll-up banners and other environmental applications

The stationery, cup, storefront, lightbox, report, brochure, office, stand, polo shirt and umbrella images on this page are application mock-ups; office and stand images show the identity applied to spaces and are not interior design.

Looking back eleven years on

Three points are worth taking from this project:

1. A logo becomes memorable when it moves from signboard to symbol. A wordmark that lists services can be read; a standalone figure can be remembered, shrunk and repeated.

2. Rigour and warmth can be the same thing. A 45 degree geometric order and the feeling of "I and you" sit in one figure; the proposal even says that rigour is care.

3. A good mark grows its own supporting graphics. From solid to line, from line to pattern, the whole system needed no extra invented element.

The best mark for an education brand is one where a letter, a book and "I and you" all hold true at once. This 2015 logo is still in use.

How to verify

· Client: Guangdong Qide Education Service Co., Ltd.

· Brand website: www.eic.org.cn, whose header uses the iU mark with the 启德教育 / EIC EDUCATION wordmark

· This case page: www.xinming.sg/portfolio/3043.html

Further reading

· Accen Visual Identity Upgrade: writing "Bath Time as Relaxing Time" into a wordmark (an established brand upgrade still in use, www.xinming.sg/portfolio/3042.html)

· Pearl River Piano Group: from badge to P/R monogram, rebuilding the identity of a 60-year-old manufacturer (www.xinming.sg/portfolio/3014.html)

· Mingshi Education visual identity (an education group, www.xinming.sg/portfolio/3206.html)

FAQ

Who designed EIC Education's current logo?

EIC Education's current iU mark was designed by Xinming Design in the 2015 logo upgrade, and it is still in use.

What does the EIC Education logo mean?

The mark runs at 45 degrees: a lowercase i with its dot on the left and a U on the right, which together form the letter E from three parallel strokes. It can also be read as the brand name EIC, a thick book, and "I and U", the idea that education is communication and companionship between the institution, teachers and students.

What did EIC Education's old logo look like?

It was an "EiC 启德教育" wordmark with "study-abroad services, overseas training" underneath, without a standalone symbol.

What are EIC Education's brand colours?

A blue-green gradient as the primary colour, for hope and tolerance, with orange and red as secondary colours, for energy and passion. Orange is often used as the large background colour on storefronts, offices and exhibition stands.

Where do EIC Education's supporting graphics come from?

Directly from the mark: the solid mark is turned into an outline version, and the outline is repeated into a pattern used on envelopes, cups, umbrellas and walls.

Which organisations can learn from this case?

Education providers whose business has grown beyond a single service and that need to move from a wordmark to a symbol, and education and service brands with many branches in China and overseas that need consistent recognition.

Xinming Design is a brand systems design firm. Its work centres on systematic judgment, turning brand strategy into structures that can run and be inherited. www.xinming.sg