Wonderhood Design helps save a local landmark with playful, purposeful rebrand

With its latest pro-bono project, Wonderhood Design has reimagined Soho Parish School’s identity and campaign messaging to boost visibility, attract pupils, and help protect the last primary school in central London’s most iconic neighbourhood.

In the heart of Soho, squeezed between jazz clubs, theatres and noodle bars, sits a school that’s quietly been shaping the area’s future for over 150 years. Despite falling pupil numbers and rising pressures, Soho Parish CofE Primary School is remarkably the last remaining primary school in the neighbourhood, but it has been facing an uncertain future.

Wonderhood Design stepped in to help with a powerful message: There’s Only One Soho School.
The playful yet poignant campaign is the second project to launch under the agency’s Neighbourly Fund, an annual pro-bono initiative supporting local organisations through strategic branding and design. It’s a masterclass in how creative identity work can bring visibility, energy and emotional resonance to a cause that truly matters.

“Soho Parish School has been at the heart of the community for over 150 years,” says Simon Elvins, co-founder at Wonderhood Design. “But with pupil numbers falling, the only school in Soho is at a real threat of closure. It was key that the new identity transformed the school from being overlooked and unnoticed to an unmissable part of Soho’s community.”

The result is a rebrand that’s as rooted in place as it is in play. The logo, which is a silhouette of the school building filled with icons, was co-created with the pupils themselves, who shared their favourite things about the school and its vibrant surroundings. These aren’t just cute doodles: they reflect a one-of-a-kind education, where pupils might take art lessons at the National Gallery, play sports in Regent’s Park, or learn music at Ronnie Scott’s.

The new identity celebrates this richness of experience. “The new identity puts the pupils at its heart with a bold and playful logo and icon set informed by what they love most about their school and its unique location,” Simon explains.

That logo also powers an interactive tool where pupils can input their interests and favourite local institutions to generate a custom version of the logo, which is exportable as an animation, sticker badge or bookmark. It’s personal, tangible, and joyfully kid-first.

Alongside the main icon, the identity includes a new wordmark inspired by historical signage found throughout the school, marrying past and future in one typographic gesture. The colour palette follows the same principle: a deep blue that nods to the school’s heritage and a sunny yellow designed to pop in Soho’s street-level chaos.

Wonderhood also developed the campaign line There’s Only One Soho School, a call to arms equal parts fact, charm, and subtle urgency. Thanks to a media partnership with Ocean Outdoor, the phrase appears across banners, flyers, signage, and even large-format digital ads, bringing the campaign to Carnaby Street and Leicester Square.

For Headteacher Alix Ascough, the visibility boost couldn’t have come at a better time. “You might assume that a school as old as Soho Parish will be around forever,” she says, “but numerous factors have led to falling numbers of pupils and put our future in danger. We’ve loved collaborating with the team at Wonderhood Design and are hopeful that their work marks the start of an exciting new period in our history.”

This isn’t the first time Wonderhood has brought its creative firepower to a neighbour in need. Last year’s debut Neighbourly Fund project saw the launch of Sacred Grounds, a coffee shop on Dean Street run by St Anne’s Parish Church. Both projects show a clear commitment to localism, not as a nostalgic branding trend, but as a principle rooted in connection, mutual support and imaginative reinvention.

While it’s still early days for hard data, the results so far are promising for the school. Compared to the previous year, the school has seen a 57% increase in applications, a 55% rise in open day visits, and has already confirmed 14 new pupils for the 2024–25 school year.

That’s more than just a design win; it’s a community win, proving that when creativity is channelled with care and context, it can turn the tide.

As Wonderhood’s campaign so succinctly puts it – there really is only one Soho school. And thanks to a well-timed dose of thoughtful design, it’s not going down without a fight.