A New Look for Stone Ridge

Introducing Our Brand Refresh

What is a brand—and why does it matter?

A brand is more than a logo or a set of colors—it’s the outward expression of who we are and what we stand for. It communicates our values, our mission, and our unique identity to the world.

At Stone Ridge, our brand helps tell the story of a community guided by faith, rooted in love, and committed to forming women of courage, purpose, and heart.

Just as people grow and evolve, so must the tools we use to express who we are. Experts recommend refreshing a brand every decade to ensure that its visual and verbal language continues to resonate with today’s audiences. Our Sacred Heart identity calls us to meet people where they are—and this refresh is a reflection of that call. It honors our heritage while equipping us to engage more fully with the present.

Why we undertook a brand refresh

The Stone Ridge brand refresh is part of our ongoing commitment to excellence—in communication, in design, and in mission. The refreshed brand provides us with:

An updated logo rooted in Sacred Heart tradition;
An expanded color palette that reflects our identity and history;
A more accessible and cohesive font system;
Updated messaging that speaks clearly and confidently to our community and beyond.

These tools strengthen our ability to share the mission of Sacred Heart education, celebrate the distinctiveness of a Stone Ridge experience, and communicate with clarity and consistency across all platforms.

Explore our Brand Guide

The Process
About the New Logo and Color Palette

The Process

This brand refresh was grounded in reflection, research, and collaboration. We began by partnering with Peapod Design, a leading branding firm in the K–12 independent school space, to guide the discovery and messaging phases of the work. Their insights helped us articulate the essence of Stone Ridge—past, present, and future.

As part of their research, Peapod led an on-campus Day of Discovery, during which more than 50 students, administrators, faculty, and staff participated in small group conversations about Stone Ridge—sharing stories, insights, and reflections on their lived experience. Peapod also conducted focus groups on Zoom with parents and alumnae, and distributed a comprehensive survey to parents, alumnae, employees, and members of the Board of Trustees. In addition, they completed a competitive analysis of brand identities at other local all-girls independent schools and Sacred Heart Network partner schools. All of these findings were synthesized into strategic recommendations for refreshed messaging and visual identity.

For the visual identity, we worked with three freelance consultants who brought years of experience designing logos and brand systems in the higher education space. Their deep understanding of institutional identity and design integrity helped shape a logo and visual system that is both meaningful and modern. Using the research and recommendations from Peapod, along with feedback and analysis from the Stone Ridge Marketing and Communications team, they created a cohesive, mission-aligned visual system tailored to the school’s needs. The final brand identity honors our Sacred Heart heritage while equipping us with the tools to communicate clearly, consistently, and beautifully.

On the messaging front, the Marketing and Communications team took the foundational research and suggestions from Peapod Design and is working to expand on them in collaboration with an external consultant. They are developing a new tagline and messaging framework that clearly communicate the heart, mission, and lived experience of a Stone Ridge education. The new messaging will be rolled out in Fall 2025.

About the New Logo and Color Palette

Our new logo draws directly from the Society of the Sacred Heart emblem designed in 1982 by Sr. Oonah Ryan, RSCJ. As Sr. Ryan wrote:

“The heart represents our hearts, the Society, and the Heart of Jesus. Its openness calls us to become as vulnerable, transparent, and welcoming as Jesus is. It is in the shape of a ribbon, to remind us that communication among us is an essential part of our heritage and essential to our survival… At the opening of the heart is a three-dimensional cross. It reaches deep and extends wide.”

In our refreshed design, we’ve placed this open ribbon heart at the center of the Stone Ridge name, and we’ve centered the cross within the heart. This alignment symbolizes that the Heart of Christ and our Sacred Heart identity are at the very center of who we are and everything we do.

We also transitioned to bold, all-caps lettering for “STONE RIDGE”—a confident expression of our identity, voice, and presence.

Our primary colors—blue and gold—remain foundational, honoring our legacy. To support creative flexibility and deeper storytelling, we’ve introduced a secondary color palette inspired by our Sacred Heart traditions. The light blue shade is named "Hyacinth Blue" in honor of the life-changing experience Janet Erskine Stuart, RSCJ, had in a field of hyacinths. "Black Watch Plaid Green" is inspired by the plaid uniform jumpers and kilts our students wear throughout their years at Stone Ridge. "Mater Pink" takes its cue from the Mater Admirabilis painting and annual tradition of wearing pink on the feast day of Mater. Sacred Heart Maroon is in honor of our connection to the Society of the Sacred Heart. And the purple and violet hues come from the stained glass windows of our chapel. These windows, originally part of the convent and school on Massachusetts Avenue, were brought to our Bethesda campus in the 1950s and continue to reflect the light and spirit of Sacred Heart education today. Together, this secondary palette will give us additional ways to visually tell our community's many stories.