Akron
Career Tech
A comprehensive brand identity system designed to unify every touchpoint — from digital enrollment campaigns to campus communications — ensuring consistent, authentic representation of the ACT mission across our downtown Akron community.
Why Brand Identity
Matters
Authority
Founded in 2021 in downtown Akron, ACT is a workforce development hub where students earn recognized industry credentials across 5 real CTE pathways: Business & Leadership, Health (CNA), Culinary Arts, Media Arts, and Cosmetology — all in a 4-day school week.
Retention
Families stay because of the nurturing, family atmosphere and professional, dynamic educators. Small class sizes of 25-28 and a genuine culture shift have driven satisfactory-or-above attendance and multiple staff leadership awards.
Growth
With current enrollment of 69 against a target of 125 and total capacity of 200, ACT has substantial room to grow. Free public bus passes and year-round, first-come-first-served enrollment remove the biggest barriers for Akron families.
Positioning &
Strategy
Akron Career Tech High School is the tuition-free public charter school for downtown Akron families and students up to 21 who want more than a diploma — a debt-free pathway to a rewarding, high-demand career, delivered in a 4-day school week with real industry credentials.
Strategic Anchors
Top Parent Objections — Addressed
7-Day Content
Pillars
Enrollment
Funnel
5 Real Career Pathways
Business & Leadership, Health (CNA), Culinary Arts, Media Arts, and Cosmetology prepare students for immediate careers.
4-Day School Week
High-quality education delivered with the flexibility of a 4-day week, ideal for working students and young parents.
Free Public Bus Passes
Public transportation with free bus passes helps every eligible student get to and from school.
PLP & Credit Recovery
Our Personalized Learning Plan program helps students catch up to grade level and modify their schedule.
Logo &
Identity
Primary — Light Background
On Dark Background — White Chip (never inverted)
Maintain space equal to the logo mark height on all sides. Never crowd or clip the horse mark or wordmark.
This mark is full-color, not a silhouette — never apply an invert or brightness filter. On dark or busy backgrounds, always place it on a white or light card/chip instead.
Do not stretch, rotate, recolor, or apply drop shadows or glows. Never place directly on the primary navy without a light background behind it.
Color
Palette
Legibility note: Mustang Gold is a light, warm yellow — it is reserved for small accents, badges, and highlight text on dark backgrounds. It is never used as a large button or text background where legibility could suffer. Sky Blue carries all primary buttons and CTAs instead.
Typography
- All page headlines and section titles at weight 700-900
- Closely echoes the tall, pointed serif used in the AKRON wordmark
- Minimum 18px digital — pairs with Roboto for body hierarchy
- Letter-spacing: tight (0 to -.01em) for headings
- All body text, captions, labels, and navigation at weight 400-600
- Weight 700-800 for strong emphasis and CTAs
- Line-height 1.65-1.8 for comfortable reading
- Never use italic in brand communications
Imagery
Direction
Career Pathways in Action
Students engaged in culinary kitchens, CNA patient-care practice, media arts production, cosmetology stations, and business simulations. Prioritize natural light, real credential moments, and authentic instructor-student interaction. Avoid staged or stock-looking compositions — show the real work happening in ACT's CTE pathways every day.
Nurturing, Family Atmosphere
Showcase the small class sizes, genuine staff-student relationships, and the culture change ACT has driven. Images must reflect dignity and pride — a downtown Akron school where every student gets every chance to succeed.
Voice &
Tone
Career-Focused and Practical
ACT's voice is direct about outcomes — CNA, culinary, media arts, and cosmetology credentials. No inflated language. Families deserve clarity about exactly what their student will walk away with.
Confident About Culture Change
ACT speaks proudly about the extreme positive culture shift it has driven — while staying warm and grounded, never boastful.
Second-Chance Friendly
The voice never judges. Whether a student is a working parent, catching up academically, or navigating the justice system, ACT's tone is "every child, every chance" — always.
Community-Rooted
Speaks with downtown Akron families, not at them — embedded in the community, trailblazing pathways for real careers. The voice never talks down and never oversells.