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Teaching, the Nueva Way
8.5.2020 — Print Design for The Nueva School
Nueva is a nationally-recognized PreK-12 school that helps gifted learners develop their passions and make choices that benefit the world. As Head of School Lee Fertig says, to attend Nueva is to join a “beloved community.” It’s a place of tree forts and bare feet, 3D-printers and bustling robotics labs, and teachers who are driven by a passion for learning. The Nueva Way workbook imagines this spirit of playful innovation as a reproducible educational model. Hundreds of readings, videos, and exercises have been lovingly created or curated by Nueva faculty to serve as a comprehensive guide to doing things “the Nueva way.”
As a graduate of ’18, I was honored to spearhead creative direction for the digital and physical editions of the workbook. I was inspired by the vintage print design most popular at the time of Nueva’s founding in 1967. Here, type set in Americana, Cooper LT, and Cerebri Sans imbues our hippie heritage with a modern bite. The two arrows that make up the Nueva “N” are turned into versatile graphics, denoting spaces and directing attention. Dozens of pages feature interactive components that can be accessed through QR code in print, or a button-click online.
The palette is bathed in Nueva’s signature ‘hyper blue,’ meant to evoke energy while maximizing legibility on low-quality printers. As part of this goal, we ensured that 95% of all text in the book meets AAA accessibility requirements, the highest possible rating in the international standard. Friendly birds adapted from the art of Owen Davey and Charley Harper perch, swoop, and soar through all 157 pages. Their flight symbolizes what I loved most about my time at Nueva: joy in freedom, breathless wonder, and the power to see the world from a different angle. Check out the whole project here.
“The workbook has far exceeded what I thought it would become. And, I thought it was going to be awesome — but this is beautiful and amazing!”
— Elizabeth Rossini, Director of Teaching & Learning at the Nueva School
“Speechless with how beautiful the workbook is. I echo everyone’s wonder and thanks.”
— Lee Holtzman, teacher at the Nueva School