The school reached out to Gershoni to develop a brand system that celebrated open debate and edgy experimentation and captured its renegade spirit.
San Francisco Art Institute is the first and oldest school of fine arts in the western U.S., producing such iconic artists as photographer Annie Leibovitz, director Kathryn Bigelow and painter Kehinde Wiley.
SFAI had spent a century and a half developing artists as critical thinkers and culture-maker but was struggling to find its own voice amid a chorus of alumni, faculty, students and other stakeholders.
The school reached out to Gershoni to develop a brand system that celebrated open debate and edgy experimentation and captured its renegade spirit.
After facilitating several workshops and more than 100 interviews with stakeholders, we rallied the organization around a set of insights that celebrated what had been perceived as their greatest struggle: contrast.
We developed a brand built around SFAI’s culture of diversity, experimentation and breaking boundaries, uniting the organization with a flexible brand, codified language and visuals that represented the role of the arts in pushing society’s boundaries. From a fully realized brand book to a complete web redesign, Gershoni brought a unified and unifying brand experience to life at every touchpoint.
The relationship was very collaborative. Gershoni was able to respect the opinions of the many strong-willed, creative people who had input in the project. Gil is a true visionary. The team took all the input and distilled that in a really beautiful way. He made everybody feel heard, and that was a big deal.”
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