The Anvil’s New Design Draws on Heritage 121 Years Old

David Yang
Sep 18
2 min read

The brand identity reflects commitment to building on tradition.

The Anvil, you’ll notice, looks a little different this year.

The design process began at the end of the last school year, with a review of 121 years of designs in the paper’s archives. This new, eighth generation design is grounded in that heritage, influenced by three main pieces of Anvil history:

The First-ever-issue’s Art-Nouveau “A”

This Art Nouveau-styled “A” appeared in the Anvil’s first issue, and remained in use for 14 years. 121 years later, it now marks the end of each article as our end sign.

1918 editorial title’s candle motif

This beautiful editorial heading includes a candle illuminating an Anvil writer’s work. That candle and its ring of light are now the Anvil’s central symbols, representing our commitment to accurate and honest journalism.

Bold serifs, with a unique spin on the School’s crest

This neoclassical masthead was the longest serving in Anvil history, used for 27 years. It’s been streamlined and softened for the 21st century. While the anvil in the background has been retained, the candle has been introduced above it to define an Anvil brand, a recognizable symbol that stands independent from the school wide crest.

The previous Anvil masthead had stood since 2014. While the previous Anvil design had grown familiar in the 11 years since, several basic issues challenged its effectiveness. There was no independent symbol for the Anvil, and it used the Middlesex crest (twice!). It was unbalanced, densely focused in the middle third of the page. The word “The” was small and attached to “Anvil,” despite the short length of The Anvil’s name. Finally, there was no separation between the logotype and the beginning of the first article.

Mirroring the masthead puts these issues in sharper focus:

It remains to be seen if there will be a logo design that outlasts the neoclassical serif Design #3’s tenure of 27 years. By reconciling The Anvil’s rich tradition—in journalism and in design—with our newspaper’s exciting future, we hope this design can serve our successors for several decades.

David Yang '26