Creating a new identity for a leader in local business lending and coaching

with Allies for Community Business

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Allies for Community Business (formerly Accion Serving Illinois and Indiana) provides low-cost capital in neighborhoods that most banks ignore. In 2020, a number of changes struck the organization at once: a 4x increase in lending due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a strategic planning process which aimed to define the next chapter, and a departure from parent company Accion International. 

The team needed to reintroduce itself to investors, clients, and partners with a new name, visual identity, and website. Most importantly, these assets needed to be reflective of their audience’s needs, built upon their strengths and assets, and embraced by their staff and stakeholders.

MY ROLE 

This project was completed as part of my work at Greater Good Studio. I served as Design Lead, and worked closely with a team that included a Research Lead, a designer, and developer.

Design Deliverables

Through a co-design process involving organizational stakeholders, staff, and clients, we arrived at a new name, tagline and visual brand identity for the organization that accurately and compellingly represented their mission.

NEW NAME, TAGLINE, AND VISUAL IDENTITY SYSTEM

We designed and produced a new website that is clear and approachable, incorporating new features, like language selection and expanded web copy, and applying the visual identity into screen designs and social media graphics.

The website not only provides the necessary technical information clients of a lending institution need, but it also reflects the emotional support and personalized approach the organization takes with its clients.

A NEW WEBSITE

Process Overview

  • During the initial discovery phase, we conducted reflection sessions with current clients, staff, and stakeholders to understand their perceptions and challenges with the current branding, including the name, visual identity system, and website design. 

  • We audited their current brand as well as conducted a peer landscape review analyzing logos, color, and use of imagery, photography, infographics, iconography, and illustrations.

  • After sharing the findings from our research, we facilitated a Brand Ideation Workshop where the client team responded to prompts sharing their ideas for names, taglines, visual identity components and website features.

  • Following ideation, we held several prototype feedback sessions with clients and staff members to narrow down options for names, taglines, and visual directions. We then held a Definition Workshop to share a synthesis of the feedback we gathered and to facilitate final decisions. 

  • We worked through several rounds of iteration and feedback with an extended client team in order to arrive at a new organization name, tagline, logo, and visual identity.

  • Finally we mapped out the new website incorporating new features and expanding the new visual language into the screen designs.

Client Testimonial

"When we needed to rebrand after 26 years of striving towards our mission, we sought a partner who would help us better communicate who we are, what we care about, who we serve, and how we deliver. Greater Good Studio provided us with everything we needed to create a powerful new brand: a new name, visual identity, tagline, and website. They helped us understand ourselves more clearly, and then helped us communicate our message to the world more effectively.”

— Brand McConnell, CEO at Allies for Community Business

Selected Projects

  • Designing a Data Dashboard to advance Upward Mobility

    with Urban Institute

    View Project

  • Redesigning an online community and website for racial equity leaders in government

    with Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE)

    View Project