Synergistic.

Engage. Communicate. Innovate. This has always been and will always be the mission of the Visions Committee - to constantly build on initiatives through student engagement while proactively innovating to enhance the student experience.

The Visions Committee was the media, communications and enrichment committee of North Sydney Boys.

It has always felt interconnected; a small group of students, working together, each dedicated to their strengths within the committee, from writing articles, to designing, or running clubs across the school.

Visions had established itself as a prominent aspect of the student experience, being seen as a productive committee that strives to improve the student experience. Most people recognised some of the major initiatives like The 4U Paper, and engaged with posters designed by Visions across the school. We wanted to further enhance this image.

Visions runs five initiatives:

• Visions Design

  • Responsible for the design of posters, social media posts, commissioned designs from other committees across the school, and the overall presence of Visions across the school

  • Posters are printed and put up around the school by members, and social media posts produced by Visions Design are put up on the schools Instagram page

• Enrichment

  • Responsible for running several clubs across the school

  • These include Engineering Club, PaperCraft Club, Problem Solving Club, and The Cinema, with many more to come in the future

• The Wing

  • The Wing is our social media initiative responsible for our digital presence

  • This includes managing our presence on platforms like the schools Instagram

  • This initiative also oversees the production of a variety media like photos and videos conducted by Visions

• The 4U Paper

  • The 4U Paper is the school's student-run magazine made for students, by students.

  • Roles within The 4U Paper include writing, editing, interviewing teachers, transcribing interviews, formatting, and more.

• Showcase

  • Showcase is the photography initiative of Visions, responsible for capturing memories of the school during important events like significant assemblies or sporting carnivals.

  • Showcase members also help edit the photos and watermarking them before publish.

  • Showcase photos are published on the schools social media page and on the Showcase bulletin noticeboard at school.

Survey

Initially when joining Visions, a survey was conducted to give us an idea of the current state of the committee. Here were some of the notable results:

Overall, it was clear that initiatives like Showcase, Visions Design and Media needed more presence within the school. This called for a refresh of the identity of several initiatives to make them appear more consistent in order to increase recognisability, as if transforming a house of brands into a branded house.

People also seemed to want new Enrichment clubs, and hence we also made this a focus.

Other rewarding ideas like badges would also help to increase the incentives of contributing to the committee and increasing its publicity across the school.

Brand Identity

To increase the student awareness of our initiatives, we first simplified our brand identity.

This was the branding of the committee and its initiatives.

In order: NSBHS Visions, The 4U Paper, Visions Design, Enrichment, Showcase, The Wing.

We noticed that each initiative logo seemed to use a different design language. Some were coloured, some had text, some were filled and some were outlined. Although they had been well established across the school, by just looking at it, it was also unclear which logo represented which initiative.

Hence, in an effort to move from a house of brands to a branded house, this was simplified to an updated, cleaner design.

Most initiative logos were reduced to outlines to ensure consistency and recognisability, while The 4U Paper logo was lightened to make it more visible against the dark blue backdrop, and the Showcase logo was edited to blend into the background. Each initiative is also now included in text beneath the logos.

Despite their consistent and simplistic design, each initiative still individually elicited its own characteristics, as seen in individual posters and cards promoting each initiative:

The typeface was also made consistent across each initiative to be using Circular Std.

Furthermore, primary Visions logo no longer included the lines separating the wings, and text of the committee. We felt that the text elicited an unnecessarily corporate connotation, rather than an inviting and welcoming one, and the lines further reinforced this while complicating the logo.

Reducing the logo to a simple silhouette also enabled us to adapt and recontextualise the logo to match special occasions and contexts instead of keeping it in a fixed form, as shown:

The full logo with the wings separated and the text would only be used when creating documentation or writing proposals that would require a more professional approach. The logo with the wings would occasionally be used when appropriate.

Increasing Awareness

To increase awareness, we made ourselves more prominent across the school.

This started with adding noticeboards for several initiatives within corridors that would help engage our presence, providing updates and introducing our committee. Posters were designed to fit within each noticeboard.

Furthermore, Visions gave out gold badges for "executives", silver badges for "contributors" and space grey badges to "members" in order to reinforce the communal sense and to offer an incentive to contribute to the committee, making us recognisable across the school.

To make our Design initiative more prominent, we introduced the "made by visions." watermark that would subtly appear under every poster we designed. This would become a recognisable and iconic characteristic of our posters, associating Visions with aesthetic and appealing design.

Within the Enrichment initiative, new clubs were introduced like Problem Solving Club and PaperCraft, alongside clubs like The Cinema and Engineering Club.

Other creations can from the Enrichment Initiative can be further found on my website, such as the Engineering Club Tutorial Videos or one of the Engineering Manual Handbooks, along with other projects like Project Phoenix.

Eventually, the goals were met and Visions saw increased awareness compared to the initial survey conducted.

...

The evolution of the Visions Committee at North Sydney Boys High School reflects a journey of strategic refinement and proactive engagement as I witnessed it firsthand. Through strategic branding, expanded presence, and new initiatives, we've not only raised visibility but also nurtured a stronger sense of community among students.

This journey reflects a dedication to the community, innovation and improvement, shaping vibrant and enriching student experiences for years to come.