The Same Great Story Reimagined
ADC holds a unique place in the lives of our students, faculty, and beyond that can be deeply personal – a source of identity and belonging.
Evolving a visual identity requires a delicate balance of being forward-looking while recognizing the role of the past. This is especially true for ADC.
Our former logo had been with us since 1968 and served us well. But as our story has evolved and deepened, we needed a new look to better communicate our heritage, our current context, and our future. To do this, we took the elements of our existing logo and reimagined them.
Our new logo is both practical and a beautiful artistic representation of our identity. Through its creative design, the mark honours the past through our heritage and legacy, engages the present through cultural engagement and diversity, and envisions the future with innovation and creativity.
The Symbols of Our Story
Cross: Christ our Saviour
Weaving all the elements together is a cross, symbolizing Christ. The interconnectedness of the line work speaks to cultural engagement and diversity.
Book: Bible & Academic Study
At the centre of the mark is an open book, simultaneously representing the Bible (held as true), and an academic book (a source of knowledge and study). It is open to signify accessibility and open-mindedness. It locates the Word at the heart of ADC.
Ichthys: Discipleship
Within the woven cross is the ichthys, representing discipleship. It faces both inward into the book (reflection) and outward toward the wider world (engagement).
Circle: Our Community & World
The mark is embraced by a circle, which speaks of the transformative change within the world, and is also an echo of our former logo’s circular silhouette. The circle is not fully closed, and the openings invite engagement and inclusivity. The inner-circle around the cross is the Christian community surrounding ADC.
Waves: Baptism & Canadian East Coast
The waveform of the crossbars represent water, which tells the story of baptism, but also locates ADC on the Canadian East Coast, surrounded by ocean.
Path: Moving Forward
The chevron breaks the frame and invites engagement with the world beyond. The vertical strokes of the cross lean inward at the top, to make a path leading forward.
ADC: Who We Are
The letters A, D, C are woven into the design.
The Wordmark
Typographically, Acadia was left untouched and reflects honouring heritage and legacy and its relationship with Acadia University. “Divinity College” is set in a modern sans-serif font with square proportions to compliment the circular logo mark, and to capture the spirit of innovation and creativity
ADC BRAND TOOLKIT
LOGO & COLOUR PALETTE USAGE
DOWNLOAD LOGOS
OTHER ADC ASSETS
Frequently Asked Questions
We recognized that at this stage in the life of the College, a rebrand would help us tell our story in a new and creative way. Our original logo had been with us since before 1968 and a lot has changed since then. We want to reflect that visually while honouring the heritage and legacy of the College. We also seek to further strengthen our brand recognition, and we now have a clear strategic plan for communicating who we are and the value we offer our students.
We hired an external contractor to walk us through a rigorous rebrand process that involved research, competitor analysis, reflection on who we are and what our story is, and much much more! After a comprehensive discovery and design process, we invited members of our community to participate in user testing. The result is a fresh visual identity for ADC that honours the past through our heritage and legacy, engages the present through cultural engagement and diversity, and envisions the future with innovation and creativity.
The rebrand was entirely funded through a generous grant from the Atlantic Baptist Foundation.
None of our affiliations have changed. We are still the seminary for the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada, and the Faculty of Theology for Acadia University.
No, our new brandmark will be what we and our partners use moving forward in all contexts.
Right now! Please feel free to access our brand kit to download a high-resolution version of our logo and access other branding assets for your unique context.