Thomas B. Fordham Institute

The Challenge

Renowned for their witty, cogent analysis of education reform, the team at the Fordham Institute is one of our most fun and creative clients. Always striving to look at problems and principles in a new light, the team wanted a bolder, edgier, more modern look for the Education Gadfly, Fordham’s news- and anaylsis-focused subbrand.

The new look needed to incorporate their mascot (a little cartoon man-bug), support the more traditional Fordham parent brand and keep with a dominate red/blue color palette. We also needed to architect and design a very robust, dynamic website that would visually streamline a half-dozen blogs and a plethora of publications, resources, and rich-media.

The Solution

Keeping the well-recognized gadfly ‘toon’, we redrew the character with some updated features, new postures, and a library of seasonal accessories for a varied, playful appearance throughout the year. The Education Gadfly identity pairs strong, crisp typography with a vibrant supporting color palette—the uniqueness of which is fully realized with pinstripe business cards and a high-impact stationary package. The Gadfly website is colorful, bright, and engaging–carefully interrupting the real meat and potatoes with striking graphics and adequate white space for, you know, breathing.