Reach 1600 Branding and Identity
Branding and Identity for a new non-profit based in Oakland that helps high school students succeed on the SAT.
Role
logo design, print materials
Background
Reach 1600 is a non-profit organization based in Oakland, CA whose goal is to to provide free SAT/college prep tutoring to high school students who come from low income, and multicultural backgrounds. Reach 1600 got in touch with me for design help because the founders are friends of mine whom I met in college.
Challenge
Create a brand and identity that aligns with the views and values of the organization. I crafted a brand identity that conveyed empowerment, inspiration, openness and acceptance.
Process
In my first meeting with the founders of Reach 1600, I had us do a creative brief to define their goals. We discussed what they wanted Reach 1600’s brand to convey, who their target audience was, and what they needed design-wise to create the most impact.
We decided to focus on creating a logo and revamping their website, based on these specifications:
- A Bright color scheme (specific color request: blues)
- A Modern, simple, minimal aesthetic
- Convey optimism, empowerment/inspiration, academia/higher education, openness and acceptance, and diversity
Initial Logos + Color schemes
I started some quick sketches on paper to get ideas flowing, then started creating them on Illustrator. I drew my initial inspiration from look and feel of slab serifs used in college and university sweaters, the direction of growth, and the star icon reminiscent of the stickers you would get for doing a great job in primary school. I then put together color palettes with blues, all conveying different moods to see which one they gravitated to for their vision.
Final Logo Design and Color Palette
The director ended up liking the alternative version of the second logo the most, using the first color palette. So I refined it a bit more, and finalized on this design:
Marketing Materials
I’ve produced other materials such as an email template, trifold brochure, Google slide template, and conference poster.
This poster won second place at the Big Bang! Business Competition by UC Davis Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship:
