Re-Branding – a Case Study
How an organization establishes their branding is always an interesting journey. More than likely, it starts with a vision that becomes an identity. When that identity no longer fits, its often time for some type of a re-branding. Needless to say, it’s an important process. This month’s case study follows a nonprofit in their quest for a brand that encapsulated not only their current vision but the future of their mission.
Client: Community Living Connections
Brief: Community Living Connections supports individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities, physical disabilities, and frail elders to live as independently as possible in their own homes. As a nonprofit agency, CLC supports approximately 200 individuals. They have provided services in Dane County, Wisconsin since 2004 and recently expanded to support those individuals living in Grant, Dodge and Fond du Lac counties as well.
The Perfect Candidate
Tingalls Graphic Design works with nonprofits as part of its nonprofit initiative, the Giving Tree Program. CLC turned out to be the perfect candidate for this initiative. The program came about from a culture founder Tara Ingalls established from the beginning. Wanting to set an example for her staff and her clients, Tara created the program as a catalyst for positive change in the community.
A focus on the partnership
According to Tara, the key to a successful partnership between a nonprofit client like CLC and a design firm is a shared vision. “For us, trying to be involved with the right charities and nonprofits isn’t just an item to check off on a list or a way to generate positive PR,” she said. “It’s about creating that connection and sharing a belief in their mission.”
Creating cause-driven branding
CLC initially came to Tingalls Graphic Design in need of a new website. Their current web design was not user-friendly, not functioning appropriately, and not representative of their image. During the conversation between CLC and Tingalls, however, it became clear that the website wasn’t the number one issue. Instead, the staff of CLC kept coming back to the look of their current branding logo.
Getting to know each other
Asking a lot of questions upfront and connecting the dots beforehand is how Tingalls established CLC’s initial branding need. Understanding what they wanted started with hearing their story. The collaboration began with a deep intake to get to understand CLC as an organization, its target market, its products and services, and its history.
The design process develops with a group effort among the designers. They use all the information gathered in the initial phase and bring it together in a creative brainstorm session. The results lead to one-of-a-kind sketched designs without the use of any existing clip art or images. This allows the designers’ imaginations to flow in a direction that creates dozens of custom looks.
What they learned about CLC during this phase was that the support they provide isn’t solely about housing. As it turns out, it’s mostly about the people they work with and assist. The CLC team wanted Tingalls to help them capture their audience’s attention with branding that highlighted a celebration of people living their best life.
Branding the CLC Man
“We called it the CLC man,” Tara said of the logo design. It’s a brightly colored, softly curved, geometric shaped design that symbolizes the individuality of each client. It’s used throughout the branding to showcase the vibrancy and mission of the organization. The vivid color palette was chosen to embody the organization’s slogan “live your best life.”
The logo represents the CLC story, their values, and how important it is for those to shine through in their work. The result is a beautiful logo that encapsulates the work of CLC. The focus on individualized services to people with disabilities and the people that surround them is clear.
Attracting Great Candidates
Another challenge CLC faced was attracting and processing qualified candidates to fill career positions quickly. Tingalls created a great online landing page and application for positions available that expedited the process and allowed CLC to connect to fantastic candidates with much fewer man-hours than ever before. This allowed them to get the best fit for each much-needed role within the organization.
The efficiently designed landing page and forms still showcased the “CLC man” but also created an easily navigated employment information page for potential applicants.
The Brand within Print Design
Combining their online efforts with print efforts proved to be another successful way to establish their re-branding throughout their entire community. The colors and design carried through to brochures, pamphlets, and business cards. Now, when a potential client sees those bright colors and the outline of the CLC man, they know right away what organization they’re dealing with.
“I think what we love most about working with CLC is the trust we have established,” said Tara. “They trust the creative energy that we bring, which is important as we become an extension of their marketing department and really part of their team.”
“The entire team at Tingalls has been true partners to CLC. While I know CLC was not Tingalls only client, we always felt like we were. I recommend Tingalls every chance I get. A friendly, professional, extremely talented group of people!” said Shelley DeNure, Director of Operations, Community Living Connections, Inc.
To learn more about how Tingalls Graphic Design can help you with your company’s brand or more about our Giving Treee Program contact us today.
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