Case Study: Global Center for Professional Advancement

The Global Center for Professional Advancement (GCPA), is a company that is dedicated to creating leaders by providing professional development courses to enhance workplace skills.

I was a part of GCPA's brand development from the outset. My thoughts when developing this identity were to create something airy and earthy because the sky is the limit when it comes to personal potential and GCPA is positioned to help people reach their next level of greatness.

Logo Design

When designing the GCPA logo, my first idea was to create something grounded to represent "global." At first I drew a literal representation of a globe. I chose colors to signify the green earth, blue water, and blue skies. However, this illustration did not make a great logo. The details were too small and there was too much negative space within the image for it to feel balanced when paired with text.

I scrapped the globe idea and shifted to a type treatment. This concept used the same coloring as before applied to bold letters. At this point, I really liked where the design was going. However, this was not quite in line with the client's vision. GCPA was a division of another one of the client's companies. It was decided that the styling of GCPA's logo shouldn't get too far away from the styling of the other company.

For the third concept, I wanted to incorporate the message of "advancement." To do this, I came up with the idea of a mountain. To climb a mountain is a feat. It takes skills and training to prepare for the challenge. If your career is the mountain, then GCPA is your training facility. They provide courses for those who are just beginning, trying to climb the career ladder, or those looking for a change. The three peaks of the mountain in this icon, represent that variety.

With the icon and meaning behind it solidified, finishing off the logo and the other visual elements was a breeze. Check out the rest of the brand identity elements below.