Heuristic Education Center (2018 ‒ 2025)
Client
Heuristic Education Center (Taipei)
Context
Freelance marketing communications & creative production
Duration
2018 ‒ 2025
Scope
Communication strategy, production & project management, brand & visual identity, campaign development & content, creative direction, graphics & illustration
Through years of offbeat brand communication and self-initiated marketing activations, the school developed an unmistakably distinctive identity — at once whimsical yet welcoming, professional yet creatively driven — that was widely recognised and embraced within the local community.
Achievements
+ ~20% of inbound leads
through solo-launched official website and Facebook page
60% faster internal turnaround (2 weeks → 3-4 days)
by establishing brand playbook and asset management system
14+ campaigns, 5+ events, 1 original video series
for one iconic brand
...
Project overview
Heuristic Education Center is a private after-school learning space in Neihu, Taipei, known locally for its bold, playful identity and long-standing focus on English-language education since 2003. Inspired by both Western and Eastern heuristic philosophies, reflected in the teachings of two great thinkers and educators, Socrates and Confucius, the school combines rigorous thinking with an expressive, unconventional atmosphere — nurtured by a small multicultural team committed to intellectual curiosity, aesthetics, and a touch of dark humour.
From 2018 to 2025, I worked as a freelance marketing communications assistant in close collaboration with the team. Over the years, my role expanded across brand communication and project management, shaping how the school expressed its philosophy and promoted its seasonal programmes and events across online and offline touch points. My work spanned campaign development, website design, brand messaging, creative direction, and the production of a multimedia edutainment series, including the creation of the school’s original mascot characters.
Through years of offbeat brand communication and self-initiated marketing activations, the school developed an unmistakably distinctive identity — at once whimsical yet welcoming, professional yet creatively driven — that was widely recognised and embraced within the local community.
Rumour has it both our brand and our approach were considered so avant-garde that we once became the subject of an internal meeting at a local public elementary school, where managers, educators and parent representatives gathered to discuss our method and its implications for modern child education.
The challenge
Since the school was first established in 2003, the local after-school education landscape has evolved rapidly. With an average of 1–2 new competitors emerging in the area each year, there was a growing need to build a stronger and more visible presence to remain relevant to parents and potential collaborators.
The small team had cultivated a highly collaborative, idea-rich culture, with a strong shared understanding of the school’s philosophy developed through years of working together. However, much of this identity remained internal, communicated externally primarily through word-of-mouth. There was no clear brand story for people to engage with, nor a dedicated platform to showcase the school’s work. The lack of a central brand archive also made it challenging for the staff to maintain visual consistency across communications and official materials.
Brand identity playbook
The school's logo, created by a former student turned independent designer and antique artist, already captured its slightly classy and remarkably eccentric character through a simple yet intricate form and distinctive typographic irregularities.
Building upon the original logo, I developed a flexible visual system that expanded it from a standalone mark into a practical brand framework, anchored by a core palette of one main colour, two theme colours, and supported by a few accent tones. The palette grew every time we figured out a new combination, and each staff were free to own their favourites.
Rather than setting a rigid corporate identity system presented as rules, the framework was designed to be a fully approachable and adaptable guide, allowing non-designers to easily create consistent communications quickly and effectively without relying on professional design software, while maintaining a recognisable visual language.
Beyond being readily available in almost every software package, according to our English teacher: the font is widely recognised for its readability, particularly among young learners and individuals with dyslexia.
Better yet, it also happens to be one of the most notoriously disliked typefaces in the professional design community — a reputation we were more than ready to embrace.
Website development & brand storytelling
In 2019, I solo shipped the school's first website after more than a decade without an online presence, handling everything from Web CMS to visuals and copywriting.
Through conversations with parents and partner organisations, I realised most were unfamiliar with the meaning behind the school's distinctive name.
Seeing this as a missed opportunity, I built the narrative around a dictionary-style introduction to the word heuristic, turning it into an entry point to communicate the school's identity, approach, and educational philosophy. It also subtly reinforced our strength in English education by evoking the old-school ritual of flipping through a paper dictionary and sounding out new words through phonics.
This simple site proved that a workable solution doesn't need to be fancy or complicated. By translating the brand's philosophy into a low-maintenance digital touchpoint, it clearly set the school apart from other after-school institutions while driving lead generation with minimal upkeep.
Following the launch, the website became an important touchpoint for prospective families and collaborators. The brand story gave the school a clearer, more memorable voice, one that was frequently cited by new clients and partners as a reason for reaching out.
Original character design
As part of the school's brand development, I created a series of original mascot characters that gradually grew synonymous with its identity.
Introduced in 2019, Spike and Reina soon became recurring characters across seasonal campaigns and materials. Their playful charm made the school's brand more recognisable and approachable, drawing attention and curiosity throughout the neighbourhood with every appearance.
Creative direction: Multimedia edutainment series
In 2020, I led the creative direction and full development of the school’s most ambitious project: an original edutainment series designed to be both timeless and relevant, featuring bite-sized videos on language, maths, arts, and English learning through casual games for young learners and their families.
The manufacturer said they’ve never made anything so oddly endearing, and were quite reluctant to return them to us.
I wore many hats on this project: co-writing scripts, art direction, storyboarding, production planning, filming (+being filmed), editing... and making my voice acting debut as Spike.
Campaigns & others
We were a fun team that couldn't stand dullness or the kind of repetition that numbs an audience. That's why we always gave our all to make each campaign distinct on its own, yet cohesive as part of a larger whole. We drew inspiration from seasonal and timely themes, and never shied away from injecting a few quirky jokes along the way.
The first set of flyers created between 2017 - 2018. The simple design intends to express elegance while conveying a professional, academic feel. They show the school’s courses and contact information (and a pinch of dark humour, for those who get it…)
Selected works.
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