Yango Academy Emblem Upgrade: A Tree Whose Leaves Are Rays of Sunlight

A tree whose leaves are rays of sunlight

In 2018, Xinming Design upgraded the emblem of Yango Academy (阳光书院), a school brand of Yango Education Group. The new emblem is a circular badge: YANGO ACADEMY runs around the top of the outer ring, a year sits at the bottom, and an olive branch rises on each side; inside the inner circle stands a tree, growing from three curved bands of ground, its leaves spreading upwards in a radial pattern like rays of the sun. The proposal sums it up as a formula: window, sun and tree. The brand colours are Kon blue (PANTONE 289 C) and frost white (PANTONE 537 C). The bottom of the emblem is a replaceable area, so that every campus of the group can use the same emblem. The emblem remains in use today, on the academy's own website.

A seal that named one city

Yango Academy is a school brand of Yango Education Group. According to public recruitment information, Shiyan Zhangwan Yango Academy is a private twelve-year school covering kindergarten, primary, junior and senior high school, located in the Shiyan Industrial New Zone in Hubei.

The previous mark was a round seal with a navy ground and a gold rim: YANGO ACADEMY across the top, the four characters 陽, 光, 書 and 院 in a square grid in the middle, and 中國·十堰 (China, Shiyan) at the bottom. It read like an academy's name seal, neatly written, but it belonged to one school in one city.

This time the contracting party was the group, and the new emblem was to be used by every campus. So the question became: how can a seal that names only Shiyan become an emblem that every school of a group can use?

Window, sun and tree

The proposal first set out the imagery of the emblem in five mood pages, one word each:

· Growth (Tree): a large tree at sunset, with "growth, persistence, resilience, confidence";

· Leaf: backlit young leaves, with "youth, growth, hope, coexistence";

· Rising sun (Sunshine): the sun rising over a city, with "vitality, strength, upward, progress";

· Carved window (Window): a round lattice window in a grey brick wall, with "academy, taste, elegance, tradition";

· Arched door (Door): a round moon door, with "Chinese style, gate of knowledge, architecture".

Three of them were then combined into a formula: window (carving, taste, tradition) + sun (sun, life, upward) + tree (tree, growth, persistence) = the emblem. The window gives the shape, the sun gives the light, the tree gives the growth.

The leaves are the rays

The inner circle of the new emblem is a round window, and in it stands a tree:

· Trunk: growing from three curved bands of ground and dividing into two branches;

· Leaves: a dozen or more slender leaves opening upwards and outwards in a radial pattern, like the rays of the sun;

· Outer ring: YANGO ACADEMY around the top, an olive branch on each side, the year at the bottom.

The proposal explains: "The sun is great; in nature there is only one sun, and all things enjoy its light. The logo takes the rays of sunlight as the brand's super symbol, expressing that education, like sunlight, shines on every student's path." The leaves and the rays share one form, "expressing that education and growth live together".

The "sunlight" in the name is drawn not as a sun, but as leaves. Only with light can a tree grow; the school provides the sunlight, and what kind of tree grows is up to the student.

The line at the bottom can be changed

The most practical part of the upgrade is at the bottom of the emblem.

The proposal includes a page on the replaceable information area: the curved band at the bottom of the emblem can be replaced, "for example China·Shiyan or China·Huangshi"; another page shows a version reading Jiangxi·Nanchang. In other words, every school in the group uses the same emblem and only changes the line at the bottom to its own campus name.

The old mark fixed 中國·十堰 inside the seal; the new emblem turns it into a replaceable slot. An academy's name seal becomes a group's emblem system.

The emblem now used on the academy's homepage reads 1995 at the bottom, the same year given on the proposal's poster for the founding of Yango Group.

Kon blue and frost white

There are two brand colours:

· Kon blue (PANTONE 289 C): the main colour for the emblem, wordmark and dark materials;

· Frost white (PANTONE 537 C): the base for paper and light materials.

The proposal gives PANTONE references only, without HEX values. Both colours carry traditional Chinese colour names, 紺青 and 霜白, rather than plain "blue" and "white". On the building facade, flag and hanging sign, the emblem also appears in gold on Kon blue.

Traditional characters, serif English

The emblem and name form a standard lockup: Yango Academy above in a steady serif typeface, and 陽光書院 below in traditional characters separated by fine vertical rules, like the centre fold of a classical Chinese book.

The educational aim shown in the proposal images is "Cultivate a future person with the international vision of Chinese soul" (培养具有中国灵魂国际视野的未来人). The bilingual lockup mirrors this line: the English serif gives the academy an international voice, the traditional characters give it a Chinese one.

From the school gate to the poster

The applications cover the school's presence, administration and promotion:

· Presence: metal lettering and emblem on the building facade, a hanging light box sign, a flag;

· Administration: business cards, letterhead, a stamp, a drawing tube label;

· Promotion: a poster series, a tote bag.

The poster series, titled 文化自信 · 学生灵魂的塑造 ("cultural confidence, the shaping of the student soul"), uses black and white images of mountains and academy buildings, with vertical text and generous white space that carry the spirit of a traditional academy. The hanging light box sign was made for the group's 2018 development conference.

The presence, administration, promotion and floor images on this page are proposal-stage mock-ups.

Deliverables and extensions

Emblem upgrade

· Yango Academy emblem (window, sun and tree) with construction drawing

· Rules for the replaceable campus line at the bottom of the emblem

· Before and after comparison

Core visual identity

· Brand colours: Kon blue (PANTONE 289 C), frost white (PANTONE 537 C)

· Bilingual lockup: Yango Academy and 陽光書院

Applications

· Presence: building facade, hanging light box sign, flag

· Administration: business cards, letterhead, stamp, drawing tube label

· Promotion: poster series, tote bag

Looking back eight years on

Three points are worth taking from this project:

1. When designing an emblem for a group, design the part that can change first. One replaceable campus line lets the same emblem serve every school.

2. The words in a name need not be drawn literally. "Sunlight" is drawn not as a sun but as leaves; the relation between light and tree is the relation between school and student.

3. From name seal to emblem. A four-character seal suits one academy; a round emblem suits an education group. The form changed because the scope of use changed.

An emblem that will be used by many schools over many years matters less for how much it holds than for what stays fixed and what can change.

How to verify

· Contracting party: Yango Education Group (阳光控股教育集团)

· School: Shiyan Zhangwan Yango Academy (十堰市张湾阳光书院), a private twelve-year school in the Shiyan Industrial New Zone

· Academy website: www.syygsy.com (the emblem is used on the homepage)

· This case page: www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3072.html

Further reading

· EIC Education Identity Upgrade: Writing "I & U" into an Education Brand (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3043.html)

· Pearl River Piano Group: From Badge to P/R Monogram, Rebuilding the Identity of a 60-Year-Old Manufacturer (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3014.html)

· Haiding Village Hotel: Drawing the Mountains of Baihualing in a Few Lines (www.xinming.sg/en/portfolio/3040.html)

FAQ

Who designed the Yango Academy emblem?

The current emblem of Yango Academy (阳光书院) was upgraded by Xinming Design in 2018 for Yango Education Group, together with a core visual identity and applications. It is shared by the group's campuses and remains in use today.

What does the Yango Academy emblem mean?

The emblem combines three images, window, sun and tree: the round frame is a window, inside it stands a tree, and its leaves spread in a radial pattern that shares its form with rays of sunlight, expressing that education shines on every student's path like sunlight, and that education and growth live together.

Which group does Yango Academy belong to?

Yango Academy is a school brand of Yango Education Group. According to public recruitment information, Shiyan Zhangwan Yango Academy is a private twelve-year school covering kindergarten to senior high school.

Why can the bottom of the emblem be replaced?

The emblem is shared by all campuses of the group. The proposal designed a replaceable band at the bottom, so that each campus only adds its own name, for example China·Shiyan, China·Huangshi or Jiangxi·Nanchang.

What are the Yango Academy brand colours?

Kon blue (PANTONE 289 C) and frost white (PANTONE 537 C).

Which organisations can learn from this case?

Education groups with several campuses; schools that want to bring a traditional academy spirit, Chinese culture and an international outlook into one emblem; and education organisations moving from a single school mark to a group identity.

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