Zak Group designed the identity of Nike School: Chicago—a new global arts educational network created to help close an equity gap that exists for young creatives in Chicago. The school’s visual identity subverts traditional academic codes. The Latin motto solum fac id (meaning “just do it”) sits above a series of graphic symbols representing the school’s values and curriculum. A bespoke varsity typeface is used across school merch: T-shirts, hoodies and stickers.

The NSC curriculum, based on principles pioneered by the Bauhaus and Black Mountain College, includes four pillars: Storytelling, Design, Visual Arts and Innovation. For each pillar we created individual heraldic shields and iconography. The NSC community includes teachers that have charted their own successful paths in creative industries and students who are just starting theirs.