Compassionate Action for Animals is approaching its twentieth anniversary, and with that we’ve got exciting plans for a redesign of our brand identity, which includes logo, typography, color palette, and more. And not only are we getting a redesign for CAA, but we’re also redesigning for two of our key programs, Twin Cities Veg Fest and Bridges of Respect.
The initial idea for this project came out of a desire for our logos to more accurately reflect our mission and to attract more of our target audiences.
For instance, our current CAA logo shows a dove when in fact our focus is on farmed animals. And to many omnivores, our current Twin Cities Veg Fest logo looks like we’re advertising for a pig roast. Not okay! And the Bridges logo is missing the high resolution quality that’s really needed for visual images today.
Also, CAA has recently completed a new strategic plan, so it’s a good time to consider how our visual image can better align with our refreshed strategy.
Last thing, the world of visual style has shifted dramatically in the past twenty years. With the increasing availability of user-friendly design software, high quality visuals are everywhere. They’re a sign of professionalism and cultural relevance. As CAA continues to grow, we want to stay ahead of that curve, appealing to as many people as possible so that we can best achieve our mission.
The Process
The process began in September as we recruited a committee comprised of CAA volunteers, board members, and staff. All committee members are either intimately familiar with CAA’s strategic plan or have professional experience in design.
We had an open call for designers, and after a process of reviewing their portfolios decided to go with Danami Champion. We were impressed with his enthusiasm for the project and willingness to work collaboratively with our committee. In fact, he had attended Twin Cities Veg Fest in September and initially reached out to us about helping with marketing materials for our 2018 festival. Talking with Danami more, we realized the need for a total redesign—not just new logos. (A redesign includes items such as typography, colors, tone, voice, etc.)
In October and November, our committee met twice with Danami, and he engaged us in a process that allowed us to define our brand attributes and the target audiences for our work. He then summarized our discussions in a creative brief, and we were able to approve that brief to be sure that we were all in alignment. Now, Danami can begin to create a new look that represents us.
He will begin with designing for CAA, then will move on to Twin Cities Veg Fest and finally Bridges of Respect. For each of these design processes, he will build a brand identity stylescape for us to review. From there, we’ll slowly narrow down the options until the design is finalized.
The CAA redesign will be completed mid-January. Then, Twin Cities Veg Fest by the end of March, followed by Bridges of Respect in the middle of June.
So far, it’s been an incredibly organic, illuminating process, articulating for Danami who we are as an organization. We look forward to the next steps and will be sure to share the big news of the finished designs with you. It’ll be an awesome way to help honor our twentieth year advocating for animals.