College of Carpenters and Allied Trades
Real World Learning Brand Identity and Website Design for a Union-Rooted Trades College.
Project Snapshot
Industry
: Education and TrainingServices
: Logo Design · Visual Identity · Brand Expression · Website Design · Development · Collateral · Environmental GraphicsChallenge
: Establish CCAT as a recognized freestanding trades college, balancing its union roots with a stronger educational identity built around hands-on, real-world learning.Outcome
: A strong, structured identity system that gave CCAT the presence of a college and the character of the trades, carrying “Real World Learning” across digital, print, vehicle and environmental touchpoints.
Founded in 1986, The College of Carpenters and Allied Trades (CCAT), is a trades school with an emphasis on construction skills, located in Woodbridge Ontario.
CCAT came to Overdrive because they had determined the need to increase public recognition of their institution as a free standing college. Historically CCAT had been associated with Carpenters’ Local 27 and the General Contractors Section Toronto. A brand strategy exercise established the importance of maintaining the essence of the college’s union roots. in the new visual identity, balanced with a strong educational aesthetic.
A second outcome of the strategic exploration was the recognition that the college’s superior infrastructure and hands-on training with full-scale construction projects lead to an encapsulating brand essence: “Real World Learning”. Together these two elements drove the visual identity.
Visit the CCAT website: theccat.ca
Visual Identity
The CCAT logo was designed as a layered mark, bringing together the college’s values, heritage, and hands-on approach in a single, purposeful form. The result is an identity that feels strong, structured, and connected to the world of skilled trades.
Real World Applications
The identity system was designed to work across a wide range of applications, from everyday collateral to large-scale environmental and vehicle graphics. Each touchpoint reinforces CCAT’s “Real World Learning” brand essence through a visual language that feels bold, practical, and unmistakably connected to the trades.
