Adventures in Rebranding: After the Logo
Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash
Deciding to rebrand your nonprofit organization is a big deal. You are likely going to sink a lot of time and money into the process of giving your organization a fresh new look. When the process is finally complete, it can be tempting to hand over the style guide and logo to an inexperienced freelance designer or staff member and expect them to create perfect new marketing materials right out of the gate. This would be a big mistake.
I’ve been a graphic designer for over 20 years now and have received new brand guides and logos for many organizations of all sizes: The Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Denver Health, and recently the nonprofit, Senior Housing Options. I’ve found that every new brand requires an experienced eye to experiment and test out logo configurations, color palettes, font-usage, etc.
This past spring, Brad Strong, founder of Wheelhouse for Nonprofits connected me with Senior Housing Options who became a wonderful new client of mine. When Brad recently circled back to ask a few questions about how things had worked out, I realized the perfect project to discuss would be the first newsletter I designed for Senior Housing Options after their rebrand. Below is a short interview describing the importance of this first project and highlights of the process.
Brad: What was the scope of the project/contract?
Cristina: I’ve worked on a number of projects with Senior Housing Options since we connected in May 2019, but my personal favorite was redesigning their quarterly newsletter using, and expanding on, their new brand guidelines. This was the very first piece SHO would be releasing with their new logo and branding, so I wanted to make sure it was fresh and impactful. I often find that despite the work that goes into an organization’s branding or rebranding project, there will still be adjustments and additional exploration that needs to take place.
1. First, I began by extending the new two-color palette of a dark navy and gold, to include a vibrant aqua, soft greys and a warm coral color.
This was the color palette created by the agency.
Here is the extended color palette I created to add warmth and energy to the designs. It is shown here with only web colors because we were in a hurry to use it for social media banners, but CMYK and RGB will be added.
2. Next, I called on my photography background to enhance colors, contrast and saturation of photos taken by staff.
3. Finally, I created a vibrant aqua masthead with the new logo, newsletter name, and brand font. Throughout the newsletter design I increased white space to increase readability, and used the new, brighter colors to bring the newsletter up to date.
Brad: What is the potential impact of this type of project?
Cristina: Rebranding is a huge undertaking for a nonprofit organization, so it’s easy to assume that once the guidelines and logo are delivered, the hard work is finally over. But this is actually the most critical stage! This is when an experienced designer needs to explore the full potential of your new branding to show you what’s possible. This first project is your “brand reveal,” and a vibrant new design signals to your audience that you are a thriving and forward-thinking nonprofit worthy their attention and support.
Brad: What made this such a great match?
Cristina: Senior Housing Options needed an experienced designer who could take their new brand and run with it, without a lot of hand-holding, and I was looking to work with established nonprofits that value quality design, so it was a wonderful match. I feel appreciated, respected, and really enjoy working with Jim at SHO.
If you have new branding for your nonprofit and need an expert’s touch to maximize it’s potential, send me a note!
Hello!
I’m Cristina, Founder and Creative Director of Sunny Day Design.
I specialize in working with nonprofits and social enterprises to create unique and powerful communications that raise awareness, inspire action, and make a bigger impact in the world. My blog provides helpful nonprofit marketing insights and fresh creative ideas to help your organization stand out.
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