Three luggage-tag studies for Santa Barbara Unified
From the Practice Log – an ongoing series of stamping studies on real-world organizations.
An August study.
A bridge centered, seats kept open, and a level reading true
Santa Barbara Unified presents its Educational Services work through literacy, mathematics, academic alignment and assessment, and belonging and community. The district’s public materials also encompass professional learning, curriculum frameworks, multilingual services, early education, arts, science, health, and career preparation. This study recognizes the adults who build and sustain those systems.
The public identity uses a thin blue circular seal around a symmetrical civic skyline with a strong center tower and lower wings. Across the site, large blue serif headings meet rectangular tabs, outlined document cards, orange baselines, and small plus-and-minus controls. These independent studies do not reproduce the seal, building, tower, palms, district name, promise, school marks, or standard classroom clip art. The symmetric skyline becomes a practical footbridge, the enclosing circle becomes a round working table with six chairs, and the document-card baseline and compact controls become the body, vial, and true bubble of a carpenter’s level.
As leather luggage tags, the ideas could be considered for approved educators, principals, district staff, instructional leaders, professional-learning cohorts, leadership retreats, community partners, conferences, or service recognition. They do not imply district approval or procurement authorization. Their first meanings are useful and adult: make a dependable crossing, create a place where people can work together, and check that the foundation is true.
Leather and treatment
Deep civic blue, warm orange-brown, and natural tan echo the current public contrast without mimicking a school seal. Deep blind impressions give the geometries the sobriety of tools and plans; restrained antique-brass on tan offers one warmer recognition finish.
The three concepts
1. Footbridge at Center
A symmetric footbridge uses one tall center post and evenly stepped railings above two supports. It reads first as a crossing built to hold. The central upright and descending side rhythm transform the district seal’s skyline geometry into a different practical structure.
2. Round Table, Open Seats
A bold empty circular table is surrounded by six evenly spaced chairs, viewed from above. The familiar arrangement means working together, while the circle and paired outer positions reinterpret the enclosing form and balanced rhythm of the public identity.
3. Level Reading True
A long carpenter’s level holds one centered bubble above a clean underline. It is a direct image of checking work carefully; the rectangular body, small control-like vial, and orange-baseline logic come from the site’s document cards and navigation system.
These are independent design studies for appropriate team, partner, collaborator, adviser, vendor, volunteer, educator, or client occasions. No affiliation, approval, or endorsement is implied. Every image is a render used to test the object before cutting a physical die.
We made this out of love. Leatherius Woodman is on a mission to create and share artifacts of beauty, craft and love – this study is one of them, and we hope the feeling is mutual.
If you’re Santa Barbara Unified and you’d like these made real, or anything here changed – say hello through our contact page.