From the Nominator

Imagine more than 300 boys from junior kindergarten to grade 8 enthusiastically full of boy energy returning to school after being confined to home for six months. Does it create visions of chaos? Even under normal circumstances this would be a challenge. Welcoming our Sterling Hall boys back to in-person learning during COVID-19 presented an entirely new set of hurdles. On July 30, we were informed by the provincial government that schools would reopen the first week of September. We had just over four weeks to prepare a safe environment in compliance with the many pandemic safety protocols in place.

Beyond implementing many of the modifications to the physical environment including sanitizing stations, air purification systems, hand washing facilities, and physical distancing measures in classrooms, we knew that providing clear, welcoming, informative and non-threatening way-finding and information signage would be critical to our successful reopening and ongoing operation of the school. 

We immediately began to collaborate on designing, producing, and installing a very ambitious signage program in the space of one month. We very quickly were challenged to pivot from an environment that was well known to our students to one that required them to adapt to new behaviours and practices immediately.

From the Judges

We felt that Sterling Hall School, an independent day school, created a strong campaign that was cohesive, clear, and eye-catching, with crisp typography and friendly colors. The pandemic presented many challenges to communications this year, and helping young children understand the importance of safety measures had to be presented in a non-threatening manner. We felt Sterling did a strong job for this audience in an engaging style.