Southern Gap
Southern Gap High School is a brand-new 9–12 grade school in Buchanan County, Virginia. Four high schools (Council, Grundy, Hurley, and Twin Valley) were consolidated in the fall of 2026 to create the new school, which needed a unified rebrand.
The Problem
This project combined four high schools spread throughout Buchanan County into one state-of-the-art facility. As the high school was to serve the entire county, reflecting the whole population was crucial for success. They reached out to Dunson Design to create branding for the new school.
The Solution
With a stakeholder committee comprised of the school board Chairman, school board members, the county Superintendent, and principals, we set out to find what makes Buchanan County, VA unique and develop school branding that would reflect their community.
Logo Design
Our first exercise for the Southern Gap High School team was to reflect on the key identifiers of the county from both a historical and social perspective. By examining the county’s history, we found that the mining industry was a great representation of the resilient nature of the community. As the county grows, looking at educational symbols and images of soaring eagles could inspire the stakeholders’ vision for the future.
Sports Logo
As part of the new high school’s development process, the school district opened the selection of their mascot to the Buchanan County, VA, community. They chose the Eagles as the school moniker to reflect the community’s high aspirations for its future.
Following this, Dunson Design developed an eagle logo for their sports teams to use—one that would be at once unique and recognizable to the community.
The Eagles Take Flight!
