Yellow and white directory sign in landscaping with internal illumination on inside of framing element.

Glendale, California

Glendale Community College

In 1926, higher education was reserved for a relative few, but farsighted citizens in Glendale recognized the need to open doors to academic and vocational instruction to a broader base of the community. As a result, Glendale citizens voted to form a community college, as part of the Glendale Unified School District. Today, Glendale Community College hosts more than 25,000 students and serves as an ethnically diverse student body with no single group forming a majority. RSM Design was brought onto the team to craft an updated vision, branding and logo design kit of parts for the college that reflects the overall culture, community, and mission of the school. Weaving in elements of the existing brand such as colors as well as referencing the physical architecture of the campus, the design team crafted an identity with both meaning and longevity.

Markets

Services

Design Awards

  • 2022 IDA Awards, Bronze in Environmental Graphics
  • 2022 Creative Communication Awards, Winner in Environmental Graphics / Functional Typography

Client

  • Glendale Community College
Orange map directional for the Upper Campus for Glendale Community College
Paseo overhead identity on the Glendale Community College bridge.
The Glendora College bridge creates a link to the two largest buildings on the Garfield campus. This bridge symbolizes the faculty and staff’s commitment to helping students and thus became the symbol that the brand was based off of.

Harmonizing branding & wayfinding

The design team also worked closely with Glendale Community College to develop a wayfinding system based on the tiered orientation of the campus. Located on the slopes of the San Rafael Mountains, the GCC campus overlooks the valleys in the Glendale Area. RSM’s wayfinding system guides students and visitors by dividing the campus into lower, middle, and upper campus levels. The signage aesthetic also relates to the branding design, colors, and typography.

Freestanding campus directional, lit at night. Orange tall directional with map for Glendale Community College.Sage green map directional for the lower campus in Glendale Community College. Lit at night.
Flag pole directional. Urban directional in green and orange for Glendale Community College. Blade directional.Close up detail shot of identity logo on directional signage.
Orange corner directional sign for Glendale Community College.Large orange corner directional for Glendale Community College.
Ariel shot of Glendale Community College campus.
Glendale Community College auditorium signage at sunset.

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