Skillebyholm
Modernising a Legacy Identity for Educational Evolution
Skillebyholm faced a pivotal moment: transitioning leadership whilst pursuing vocational college status required a fresh visual identity that could attract broader audiences without abandoning the school’s heritage. Their existing logo, whilst beloved, carried aesthetic limitations from the 1980s that no longer served their expanding ambitions.
Founded as a biodynamic gardening school, Skillebyholm operates as non-profit organisation committed to sustainable agriculture education. As they prepared for change and growth the school needed to signal both academic credibility and their unique approach to holistic gardening education. The challenge was communicating serious educational standards whilst maintaining the personal, artisanal character that sets them apart from conventional horticultural programmes.
Client
Stiftelsen Skillebyholm
Product
Logo
Scope
Logo design and layout
The original lettering held special significance. It had been hand-drawn by local artist Arne Klingborg, who helped establish the school’s founding vision. Simply discarding this work would mean losing a tangible connection to Skillebyholm’s origins and the biodynamic gardening principles that still guide their curriculum today. I preserved Klingborg’s distinctive lettering whilst completely reimagining the accompanying symbol.
The new circular design unifies sun, plant, and earth, not just as gardening fundamentals, but as visual representation of biodynamic agriculture’s holistic worldview that Skillebyholm teaches.
The circular form itself communicates the interconnected, cyclical thinking central to biodynamic practice, moving beyond generic nature imagery to reflect specific educational philosophy.
Balancing the handcrafted lettering with this clean, contemporary symbol created visual harmony between heritage and progress. The colour palette honours the original blue whilst supporting the school’s evolving identity needs.
Recognising that Stiftelsen Skillebyholm operates diverse educational programmes across multiple communication channels, I developed a comprehensive identity manual ensuring consistent application regardless of user expertise. This systematic approach has enabled staff to maintain professional standards across all touchpoints without requiring design background.
The timing proved perfect: as Skillebyholm opened to broader audiences during their institutional transition, the new identity immediately communicated credibility as a serious gardening institution whilst preserving the personal, artisanal character that distinguishes them from commercial horticultural programmes.
Students and faculty embraced the modernised identity as it perfectly captured their evolution whilst respecting their roots.