Reach Society
Working with West Star Communications, we helped rename and rebrand the Reach Child and Youth Development Society with a new logo and publication designs.
“The changing of our name and logo was a huge undertaking for our organization. The role of Working Design in our process of change was pivotal to its success. Their expertise and talent in facilitating the development of a new name, designing a new brochure, and producing a new logo transformed our visual identity into one that richly reflects and communicates the essence of our organization. And their professionalism demonstrated that they are an organization that understands and cares about the culture and values of the non-profit.”
Cathy Nidoski, Communications Director,
REACH Child and Youth Development Society
Project
Moving into its 50th year, the Delta Association for Child Development serves children with special needs in the South Fraser region of the Lower Mainland. The organization required a new brand comprising its name and visual identity. After an extensive RFP search, DACD hired the team of Working Design and West Star Communications to assist in arriving at a new name and developing a communications strategy for rebranding in addition to devising a new logo and central brochure.
Purpose
DACD required an updated identity which reflected its expanded role as a dynamic, flexible service provider in the South Fraser area. A new name was intended to better identify the organization, its services and constituency while distinguishing it from other organizations in the region. New print materials were needed in order to introduce the new name and identity.
Audience
- Parents of children with special needs (ie. clients and potential clients)
- Referring agencies
- Government and private funders
- Media
- General public
Objectives
The renaming, communications strategy and rebranding should:
- improve the association’s profile with its target audience
- make it easier for staff to identify the organization to clients and referring agencies
- present the association as up to date, thriving and growing
- allow the organization to renew and build funder and media relationships
- pave the way for the establishment of a foundation and new funding strategy
Definable goals
- higher community profile and recognition with increased media coverage
- increased funding through stronger online presence
Challenges
- project scope in relation to organizational capacity
- financial and staffing resources required to implement the new identity
- finding agreement and approval among staff, board and committee members
- resistance to changing a familiar name
Applications
All print and web-related materials including business collateral, brochures, advertising, signage and give away items such as mugs, pens etc.
Process
Working with DACD staff, board and committee members, Working Design and West Star Communications assisted with an exhaustive search and developing sets of proposals for a new name. Extensive consultation over a period of months with numerous stakeholders resulted in a short list of names being presented to a focus group for feedback. Two sets of proposals were sent to the organization’s board for approval and the name “REACH Society for Child and Youth Development” was chosen.
Concurrently, a visual and content audit of the association’s print and web materials was done in addition to a review of media and fundraising strategies.
The organization was presented with a thorough, multi-year communication strategy and implementation report encompassing immediate needs and longer term requirements. In addition, a plan was developed to build in-house capacity to design and produce materials based on design styles and electronic templates provided by Working Design.
The aim of the new logo was to present the association as child-centred and friendly. Leaves arranged around the outstretched arms of a child figure symbolize growth and outreach. The organization chose a green palette to underline those themes.
In working on the central brochure project, Working Design proposed that the association make extensive use of custom photography to replace the clip art illustrations and stock photography featured in their print and web materials. Several days were devoted to on site photography with the result that an image bank has been established and images were used in the central brochure and 12 separate program brochures.
The design of the central brochure ranging from photo presentation to typestyle and colour palette will be adapted in house by REACH staff for program brochures, a newsletter and a revised web site.
