HMH

"What students are learning and how teachers are teaching change every year. With that has come an explosion of education technology, all claiming to help. What was meant to make teachers’ lives easier has had the opposite effect, with today’s teachers interacting with dozens of platforms every day. HMH, previously known as Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, has become the industry leader in fully integrating its proven curriculum, assessment, and professional development into a single end-to-end platform.

Most educators knew and trusted the HMH brand but still saw us as a static textbook provider and were unaware of the shift in our business. We needed a brand that maintained that trust but telegraphed our role as a digital-first innovator. With input from over 1,500 survey participants, we analyzed how students and teachers use our tools and resources.

We unearthed a core set of needs that HMH can deliver: flexibility, ease of use, and engaging learning experiences. From here, the emotional hook surfaced: creating growth for every student, no matter the circumstances. We landed on the big idea of “growth in motion.” It captures our promise to power learning that continuously adapts to student needs.

We developed a visual identity that symbolizes our transformation from traditional publisher to adaptive learning company. The logo features three ovals, alluding to HMH’s proven expertise in curriculum, assessment, and professional development, among other meanings. The logo is complemented by a visual system that conveys how HMH adapts to help students, teachers, and administrators. It features illustrations evoking how technology can fuel growth, a vibrant color palette, imagery that celebrates kids’ uniqueness and teachers’ heroism, clean typography with a sense of personality, and a contemporary illustration style. We also created a new brand voice that is summarized by the idea of a “creative copilot,” matching how HMH works with the audiences it serves: as a skilled and steadfast partner with tools, information, and guidance, exactly when needed.

The new HMH brand was introduced to the world officially on July 18, 2024, poised to accelerate growth for students and educators across the globe."

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