Blair Academy
Blair Academy is a dynamic, co-educational boarding school located in Blairstown New Jersey where students in grades 9-12 pursue a superior college preparatory education.
We were connected with Blair Academy through a mutual colleague. After a warm introduction to Suzy, their Assistant Head of School for Strategic Communications, we got on a quick call to discuss needs and see if we got along.
Blair was in need of graphic design on a variety of projects, everything from large fundraising booklets to post card sized student hand outs. We went to tour the beautiful campus, met with Suzy and her team, and the Head of School (and his dog!) and soon found that we would be a great fit for what they needed.
STAY CALM INDUSTRIES
Stay Calm Industries is a full service creative agency based in Allentown, PA, specializing in advertising, branding, copywriting, photography, videography, graphic design, social media, strategy and web design. While we’re typically crafting strategic design work for clients, this case study takes a more personal turn, we became our own client.
After a few years of building a portfolio of strong creative work, we realized our company’s branding no longer reflected the direction we were heading. It felt dated, casual, and wasn’t aligned with the more refined, elevated look we were aiming to deliver for others. So, we decided it was time to evolve, beginning with ourselves.
What started with a conversation about fonts, style, and strategy quickly grew into a full-scale internal rebrand, one rooted in intentionality, collaboration, and clean design.
Services
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Branding
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Graphic Design
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Web Design
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Photography
BRANDING
Our previous logo was built around a thick sans serif font, sometimes paired with a colorful plaid graphic. While it served us well for a time, it no longer reflected the quality or tone of work we were producing. We knew we wanted to shift toward something more timeless, elegant, and minimal, but still uniquely us.
We kicked off the rebrand with a discovery phase led by our lead designer. This included a lot of sketching, font research, and looking at brands we admire, particularly luxury watch companies, which our founder Evan has always appreciated for their classic appeal. We also pulled references from Evan’s bookmarked inspiration posts, Pinterest boards, and various design books around the studio.
The key to the identity was our squid. We explored multiple hand-drawn versions to find the perfect balance of playfulness and sophistication. The final logo suite includes several custom squid marks and a refined serif wordmark. It’s clean, structured, and confident, just like we wanted.
After several rounds of review and a few strategic pivots (including scrapping an earlier script/sans serif direction), we landed on a system that truly felt like us.
GRAPHIC DESIGN
The rebrand allowed us to build a consistent visual system that spans all our touchpoints. From social posts and print collateral to internal documents and presentation decks, everything was brought into alignment. Clean lines, minimal typography, and intentional use of illustration now define our visual language.
We also created a brand asset library to ensure our team has easy access to logo variations, templates, and visuals that keep everything on-brand moving forward.
WEB DESIGN
We knew our website had to match the new energy of the brand, something minimal, highly functional, and focused on showcasing our work. We stripped away the unnecessary and doubled down on clarity, elegance, and content hierarchy.
The new site is clean and intuitive, with ample white space and thoughtful typography. It clearly highlights our service offerings, case studies, and approach while creating a smooth and elevated user experience for potential clients.
PHOTOGRAPHY
With our updated brand voice in mind, we refreshed our visual identity with clean, intentional photography that mirrors the elevated aesthetic of the new brand. Whether used on our site or across social media, every image was styled and shot to feel editorial and curated, helping to position Stay Calm Industries as a creative agency with both personality and polish.
The photography also showcases our services in action, our process, our people, and our space, offering potential clients a clear window into who we are and how we work.
RESULTS
Rebranding our own agency was a rewarding (and humbling) experience. This project was fully led by our Lead Graphic Designer Bri, while our Creative Director and Owner, Evan, was treated as the client. It gave our team the space to experiment, collaborate, and truly reflect on the type of agency we want to be. It also gave us the tools we needed to show up confidently in the creative space, both visually and strategically.
We’re proud of what we built together, and even more proud of how it reflects where we’re headed.
-Bri Figueroa, Lead Graphic Designer
"I wanted our branding to feel like it wouldn’t need to change again in a few years—something that speaks for us and the kind of clients we want to work with: elevated, clean, and confident."