As far as I can remember, I always disliked my school uniform. Maybe it was the color, the style or the fact that I never liked being dressed as everyone else. There was recently a family day at my high school, where alumni wore proudly their old uniforms, sweatshirts and rings. It was all showcased and documented (for better or worse) on the Facebook alumni page. And as awkward and ridiculous as you might think that an adult looks wearing his or her senior class shirt, for the first time (and looking back) it all looked kind of cool. I don’t have my uniform of course (remember that I never liked it) and my senior class polo shirt was PEACH…give me a break! But I do have to admit that the sense of belonging it’s stronger when you dress as a team. Some say it is for the sake of equality, some say it is discipline. I think it can be much more than that.

When we started working with the St. Mary’s School's project to bring a branding campaign to life, the concept was developed around the uniform and what it represents. It was a very cool way to highlight a specific element of the outfit by giving a magical meaning to it. The bow, the shoes, the golden button, the insignia…all became the hero, the leading character, like a feature that is there for a reason, a good reason. So the uniform could mean that you are part of a tight group or something big, but always something meaningful in your life. It gives you a sense of pride and fills you with unexpected strength. If you want to see what it really means take a deep look. Look at the soccer teams at the World Cup when the game is about to start. The fresh shirts, shorts and socks make them all stand tall even though they will all later look like hell. Or the country teams at The Olympics wearing their colors proudly smiling like never before, even if they're sweating inside the tailor made jacket. Or even better, take a look at the brave face of a pre-school girl who on her first day of school is convinced that her uniform is for pirate girls.

To see the campaign this blog entry makes reference to check out our projects on the menu of the page.