Blue Marble has been a key partner throughout the development of the product/Ux and brand communications for both EdReady and its parent organization (NROC) going back over 12 years…learn more.
From launching a new brand and website in March of 2020 through the first few years of growth with many different projects, initiatives, and events, we’ve provided creative/technical services and guidance…learn more.
Blue Marble has been a key partner throughout the development of the product/Ux and brand communications for both EdReady and its parent organization (NROC) going back over 12 years…learn more.
From launching a new brand and website in March of 2020 through the first few years of growth with many different projects, initiatives, and events, we’ve provided creative/technical services and guidance…learn more.
In 2016, NROC's marketing leadership identified "Networked for Change" as the theme of their upcoming 2017 annual member meeting. Blue Marble was tasked with developing a visual identity for the theme.
The team at NROC felt inspired by aspen trees and wanted to use an aspen forest as a metaphor to describe how being "networked" is a powerful force for change. We agreed that the idea was a great fit for this collaborative group of education leaders. The branding program would need to appeal both to young teachers and seasoned administrative leaders.
"Networked for Change emphasizes how natural and human systems of connection encourage resilience and evolution. The NROC Network of members is a powerful force for change, unified by a commitment to honor and support all learners."
—Amanda Melton, NROC Marketing Director
For the campaign visuals, we created an illustration of an aspen forest spreading across a landscape with connected roots underground. In addition to creating the illustration, we developed the overall visual identity, including the Networked for Change logo and a style guide with defined colors, fonts, and graphic elements. Working closely with the NROC marketing team, the theme was integrated into conference activities. The visual identity was applied across a range of media, including signage, name tags, agenda, tote bags, notebooks, a card deck, slide presentations, websites, emails, conference app, and more.
The Networked for Change branding succeeded in capturing the mood of this nonprofit project as its membership works behind-the-scenes to re-think pathways to student success and improve outcomes within the U.S. education system.
2017 Ambassador award winner and California Adult Education professional, Penny Pearson proudly displays her award featuring the Networked for Change aspen illustration.
(click images below to view as slideshow, scroll down for video case study)
Creative Direction: Christine Fisher (BMC) / Amanda Melton (NROC)
Art Direction, Design, and Illustration: Christine Fisher, Blue Marble Creative
Photography: Jennifer Jones || Videography: Wiley Watson
Aspen concept: Terri Rowenhorst / Ilse Wolf || Video direction / project assist: Suzanne Wright Baumhaukl
The NROC Project
Brand and message development
Print and digital publication
As a long-time advisor to the NROC marketing team, we join in annual strategic planning sessions to outline strategies, and tactics for the coming year. In late 2015, while developing the 2016 marketing plan, NROC's marketing leadership identified a theme of "Champions for Change." Blue Marble was tasked with developing a graphic identity for the theme. The graphics were used for NROC-hosted meetings, events, and other promotions throughout the year. Blue Marble also assisted with planning by documenting the strategy in an organized, visual format. The slide deck and summary sheet we designed helped NROC marketing staff to relate their vision easily to managers across the organization.
As a short-term campaign, Champions for Change (C4C) graphic identity would work with and play off of the organization’s overall brand identity. NROC represents a forward-thinking, innovative group of technologists and educators. It's important to keep pace with trends and present a feeling of being in-touch with the future. Our goal with the annual themes is to strike a balance—staying clearly aligned with the NROC organization's main brand while also putting forth something fresh and inspiring.
The graphic identity we created for the Champions for Change campaign makes reference to the NROC organizational logo, which includes a triangle shape inside the letter O (symbolizing a play button and forward movement). The new variation on this symbol emphasizes the outlines of the circular O shape with breaks in the line so that it also reads as two Cs (for Champions for Change). Design decisions were summarized in a simple style guide and then applied to a variety of posters, name tags, flyers, and other swag to be used at events throughout the year. The graphics have been well-received by audiences, setting the tone for an energetic and aspirational 2016.
style guide for 2016 Champions for Change theme (an internal document)
meeting participants (showing name tags, buttons, posters in background)
NROC staff and ambassadors wore buttons to represent the main products NROC has created.
Blue Marble designed artwork for tote bags and various other items, including a simple black and white meeting agenda.
Posters featuring the C4C theme artwork guide participants to the correct rooms.
Flyers with inspirational quotes reinforce the theme and encourage reflection.
Faces of real NROC leaders, learners, and teachers were featured on campaign posters.
NROC staff hand out name tags, drink tickets, and registration packets.
A conference app was branded with theme artwork
NROC staff pose with EdReady glasses and a themed backdrop
NROC is an organization that genuinely makes a difference in the lives of students and education professionals. Latonia (pictured above) went on to attend Solano Community College in California majoring in Political Science with plans to attend law school.
photos by Jen Jones
The NROC Project
Brand and message development
Print and digital publication
When NROC's founder, Gary Lopez, first told us about his vision for EdReady in 2012, NROC had recently secured funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to build EdReady. The big goal for EdReady was to help vastly more Americans complete college. EdReady would be a free online tool with a more advanced and customized version used in educational institutions nationwide. The app would allow students to self-assess for math and English readiness and then follow a personalized study path to fill in their knowledge gaps.
EdReady needed to appeal to a broad spectrum of people. Imagine a student headed to a rigorous college STEM program, or an adult with math anxiety striving to earn a G.E.D. A project like this requires the involvement of many stakeholders. Blue Marble was engaged to handle design for EdReady, both UX design and the brand identity and marketing materials.
Christine Fisher and John Watson of Evergreen Education Group discuss EdReady with high school students during a day of user testing.
NROC is unique in that their work is guided by a national network of educational institutions. Therefore, the need to get buy-in from students, schools, and other education leaders is embedded into its business model.
Blue Marble helped with focus groups to test our assumptions and gain valuable insight into the user’s experience with early prototypes. Within the first three months, the interface underwent three major revisions based on feedback from students and teachers. We observed a wide spectrum of attitudes about math and college, learning our target audience's own language so we could gain their trust and engagement.
EdReady is currently being used by institutions across the U.S. including some entire state systems such as Montana, Hawaii, Utah, Idaho, Nebraska, Tennessee, North Carolina, and others.
A short documentary (about Montana) is available to show what a statewide implementation of EdReady looked like in 2015. Blue Marble was involved in the production of this film, conducting the interviews and providing feedback during the editing process.
EdReady has matured from the concept stage to become a fully functional product with a coherent brand and story that continues to unfold.
Based, in part, on the value EdReady brings to educational institutions, NROC has been able to increase membership and is working toward becoming a self-sustaining project.
Blue Marble produced this first explainer video in 2014, including script, storyboards, illustration, voiceover, motion and sound design. Due to our careful planning the video serves a variety of needs and has been customized for multiple states and school systems.
In 2015 we produced a six-part online toolkit for education leaders to promote EdReady within their own institutions. A variety of customizable materials and a complete style guide were included.
The toolkit was also shared as a credit-card-sized flash drive in conference bags. Our work has included designs for conference signage, name tags, and collateral.
A suite of reports allows administrators and teachers to support students using EdReady. How is Ms. Sandoval's Algebra 1 class performing? How has Elizabeth been spending her time inside EdReady? How did Jonathan reach his target score so quickly? Blue Marble helped NROC to create a system that answers questions like these based on research into the needs of EdReady's administrative users.
The "study path" where a student can learn about topics they need to study, then check their knowledge to improve their scores. Students can learn and assess themselves at their own pace in a low-stakes environment with constant feedback.
The NROC Project
Interaction/interface design
Customer/user experience
Brand and message development
Multimedia campaigns
Print and digital publication
Illustration, photography, video production, motion graphics
“I think of Blue Marble as part of our team. Without their vision and creativity we would not have a fraction of the success we have enjoyed. Blue Marble took the time to understand the students and instructors that we serve, as well as the challenges we face. They committed creatively and emotionally to both our business success and our mission success.”
– Gary Lopez, Ph.D, Founder and CEO, The NROC Project
“We’ve got many students falling out of higher education. The work NROC is doing in technology and education could not be more important.”
– Martha Kanter, Former U.S. Department of Education Undersecretary
Hundreds of education leaders have contributed time and expertise to this project and the underlying learning resources. It is truly a labor of love for many.
To learn more about the organization behind EdReady, and to hear what education leaders are saying about EdReady, see the above video. You can also learn more about our work on The NROC Project.
Keeping Pace with K-12 Digital Learning is an annual report that examines the status of K-12 online education across the United States. Schools, districts, nonprofits, government, and companies rely on the Keeping Pace annual report and website to pinpoint key challenges and see overarching trends. With so much information to convey, Evergreen Education Group has worked with Blue Marble over the past seven years to enhance the visual presentation of this annual report. Every year we make incremental improvements to make this important body of research more accessible to diverse audiences.
Knowing that the visual presentation of the data in the Keeping Pace report is nearly as important as the data itself, Blue Marble has taken part in numerous discussions with Keeping Pace authors. We introduced new design concepts for maps, charts, and tables to make the information easier to digest and share — in print and digital formats. Developing these visual tools requires a high level of collaboration between Blue Marble and the report’s authors and stakeholders. In addition, with so many rapid changes happening in the field of online and blended learning, the Keeping Pace printed report quickly becomes dated. A website with a customized content management system and integrated blog allows Evergreen staff to easily disseminate their research, keep information up to date, and share their expertise throughout the year.
Making information fresh and accessible
Evergreen Education Group has redefined the way information is conveyed in K-12 online and blended learning.
Infographics are now an anchor of the Keeping Pace annual report and website, and are used in presentations, classes and more.
Interactive maps on the Keeping Pace website feature up-to-date information.
Reports and infographics are available for free download and easy sharing.
A fully integrated blog has given Evergreen staff a platform on which to build their thought leadership, expand their reach and allow experts to share relevant news and resources on an ongoing basis.
For many years, we've worked with the Keeping Pace research team to distill the key findings and transform them into compelling stories. Whether the stories are told through graphics, case studies, or other narrative styles, Blue Marble helps ensure that Keeping Pace delivers rich, compelling content that’s freely available in both print and digital channels.
In 2015 the authors of Keeping Pace decided to shift the focus completely from text to data visualization. We created a significantly greater number of infographics and adjusted the layout to bring in more white space. The result is a visually compelling presentation of data-rich information throughout the whole of the 2015 report; a change that has been positively received by audiences.
Evergreen Education Group
Website design and development
Print and digital publication
“Blue Marble has become an indispensable part of our team, providing strategic creative thinking, graphic design and website development. They have given us a professional, creative look and their work is consistently complimented by our clients.”
– John Watson, founder of Evergreen Education Group
Several years ago the State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA) developed an online database called the State Education Policy Center which housed data related to state policies on broadband access, online assessments and professional learning. Both the website’s public user and administrative interfaces were clunky and hard to negotiate such that it was difficult for SETDA staff to keep the site up-to-date with current information. With a large amount of new policy information recently gathered and more on the way, SETDA asked Blue Marble to create a new website that would make the data more accessible and easier to manage.
The most significant aspect of the project was the data that resulted from a survey SETDA had issued to all 50 states and two US territories. It was a huge amount of information concerning the procurement of digital instructional materials that is constantly changing. The data needed to be housed in such a way that users could understand the big picture as well as pull out detailed data points as needed. Both SETDA and BMC teams worked hard to comb through and organize this data into a computer-readable format.
Because SETDA intends to add additional topics to the site, it was also important to develop an information architecture that would would allow the site to expand and layer multiple data sets.
A central component of the new website is a data-driven interactive map that helps users easily see what’s happening across the nation with various topics related to digital instructional materials. From this map users can access a detailed profile of their particular state. A comparative table enables users to select up to five states to run a side-by-side analysis and ultimately understand the policies, requirements, and process for online content procurement as it relates to their particular situation.
Making policy data accessible and useful
State Education Technology Directors Association
Website design and development
State Education Technology Directors Association (SETDA) is a national nonprofit helping build and increase the capacity of state and national leaders to improve education through technology policy and practice. When we first began working with SETDA, the organization had recently completed a strategic planning process that included a brand identity refresh. Yet SETDA’s website remained outdated, and was a poor example of the organization’s technical focus and innovation — a concept that is core to SETDA’s mission. The site’s content was poorly organized, the messaging lacked clarity, and staff could not easily make updates. In addition, SETDA project initiatives that warranted individual websites were not integrated into the parent website, creating an information gap and disjointed user experience.
As important as having a clean, modern website and content management system (CMS) was having a seamless interface between SETDA’s parent website and its microsites. All of these interconnected websites needed to have a consistent look and one CMS. By using a WordPress multi-site install, we were able to establish a single database from which all sites originate and that allows for a multi-faceted search across all SETDA websites. The SETDA team had long been frustrated with the disorganization of their website content and their inability to efficiently manage it so it was critical for us to create custom modules in the CMS that would reduce staff members' level of effort.
Stakeholders are well connected
Since the launch of the parent website, Blue Marble has developed additional microsites that operate independently but share important database and stylistic features that bring cohesion to front- and back-end user experience.
State Education Technology Directors Association
Website design and development
Founded in 2000 as Evergreen Consulting Associates, Evergreen Education Group underwent a major change in 2009 when the founder decided to transition away from environmental consulting and focus exclusively on the education technology (edtech) sector. This shift required a new company name, a new brand identity, and new communication tools such as a website and business stationery. As long-time partners, the company reached out to Blue Marble for help.
Our approach to Evergreen’s rebrand centered around market research and personal interviews with the company’s staff and key clients so we could understand current perceptions and the distance between those and the ultimate vision for the business. Through this research, we discovered that Evergreen should capitalize its ability to maintain neutrality in its work (impartiality is highly valued when working with private, governmental and nonprofit entities in education) and create a timeless image that would resonate with an ever-evolving audience. We helped Evergreen see the value of keeping its current name whose meaning was multifaceted, and evolved the wording slightly to allow for growth and clarification of their specialization.
Elevating Evergreen Education Group as an edtech leader
Since its rebrand, Evergreen has grown into a mid-sized company that utilizes a carefully crafted network of consultants and partners to fulfill its mission. The company is reputed as a leading edtech research and consulting firm. As the company’s service offerings have evolved, Blue Marble has helped Evergreen define and explain its value proposition to potential clients — through brochures, presentations, and other marketing materials.
Evergreen Education Group
Brand and message development
Website design and development
Print and digital publication
