The College of the Rockies has a new look thanks to a rebranding effort — and valley residents will see visible evidence of it at some point in the future.
“I imagine a new sign and everything else will be forthcoming,” said Invermere campus manager Doug Clovechok. “For the last couple of years, we’ve been doing a fairly intensive strategic process and this is all part of that.”
The college recently unveiled part of its new brand identity — its new logo — at its 40th anniversary celebration earlier this month. The rebranding — which was led by Calgary-based Strut Creative Inc. — will be rolled out slowly over the next few months before being fully implemented in September, just in time for the fall semester.
Clovechok was pleased with the level of engagement shown by Invermere residents during consultation sessions the college undertook as part of its strategic process.
“Our audience (for the consultation session) in Invermere was the largest of any campus in the college,” he said. “And I think that is reflective of the interest in the college here in our
community.”
The input generated during that session and others is evidenced in the new logo, Clovechok added.
“We listened to people and we heard that the Rocky Mountains are inspirational to our students and to the people that come and live here. So the new logo pays tribute to the Rockies,” he said. “I like the old logo, but I think the new one is even better. It’s quite modern, and with all the employee input and community input that went into it, it really was a collaborative effort.”
The swooping lines that form a stylized set of mountains in the new logo have an aesthetic that reflects the college’s values, according to Clovechok.
“It has a flowing sense about it, and partly that is inspired by our concept of lifelong learning. There’s always movement. No matter how old you are, there’s always something to learn,” he said. “It captures we are adaptive, that we respond to community needs and that we are approachable.”
College of the Rockies chief executive officer David Walls agrees with Clovechok, saying in a press release that “this is a brave departure from where we were. The continuous flowing shape of our new logo signifies life-long learning, a continuous journey, sustainability and opportunity. The new look also pays tribute to our place in the Rockies without giving the sense that the mountains are the only thing that we’re about.”
“The rebranding is the largest overhaul of the image since we moved from East Kootenay Community College to College of the Rockies 20 years ago,” said college marketing and communications manager, Heather Jackson. “Unveiling our logo is the first exciting step in this rebranding process. We look forward to communicating further changes to our brand identity in the months to come.”
To learn more about local College of the Rockies campus, check out
www.cotr.bc.ca/invermere.