Empire Mental Health Support (EMHS) was created as a nonprofit in 2020. It is comprised of a group of people living with a mental illness or who are family members of those living with a mental illness. They provide education, advocacy, and support groups that serve individuals and families living in the Sioux Empire area.
While their events and programming were coming together, two big pieces of the puzzle were still missing—an authentic and cohesive brand identity and the ability to start spreading the word about their organization and the services they offer.
Brand Essence
During our brand strategy session, we focused on clarifying EMHS's brand story, values, voice, industry peers, mission, and market fit. Brand keywords are also a great way to get to the "essence" of a brand. For EMHS, those keywords included:
Supportive
Empathetic
Resourceful
Educational
Collaborative
Trusted
Experienced
Caring
Project Details
We provided EMHS with a full suite of branding, website design and collateral pieces:
Behind the Design
In approaching the visual identity for Empire Mental Health Support, we aimed for a look that is refined, yet warm and welcoming. The brand has to be approachable and appeal to a broad audience.
We chose fonts that are stylistically strong and balanced with finer details that are softer—the curved serifs of the header font give a warmer, more approachable look over the typical slab (block) serif style.
The custom icon is a nod to their old logo concept with the head and light bulb, however this one has a more modern appeal and feels less scientific with the sun rays and leaves.
The sun is a symbol of light in dark times, or lighting the way. The leaves are a symbol of hope, growth and support.
Secondary Logo
When clients work with us for a full branding experience, we almost always will include a secondary logo mark. Secondary logos are an alternative expression of a brand's primary logo. It's intended to be used as a secondary element in collateral pieces where the brand's primary logo may have already been used.
The secondary logo for EMHS incorporates similar elements to the primary logo for a unique look that is still consistent and recognizable for their brand.
Brand Patterns
The icons created for EMHS's visual identity lent themselves to become a branded pattern that is great for implementing across a variety of different collateral pieces. It can be used on the back of a letterhead or in the inside flap of an envelope for a brand that feels elevated, where every detail was accounted for.
Color Theory
The color palette for EMHS is natural and calming. The primary colors are sage, olive green and almond with goldenrod and charcoal being used as secondary accent colors within the brand. During the brand strategy phase, we don't just pick colors we like. We always research the psychology behind the colors to make sure that the impact they will have on our emotions aligns with what we establish during the brand strategy phase.
Sage: calm, stability, rebirth
Olive Green: compassion, nature, peace
Goldenrod: warmth, optimism, happiness
Charcoal: sophisticated, reliable, strength
Almond: natural, calm, formal
Branding Beyond the Logo
Once the logos and all visual elements were established, we created a variety of collateral pieces and a brand new website to ensure a consistent experience anytime someone is introduced to the organization.
To learn more about Empire Mental Health Support and the services they provide, check them out at empirementalhealthsupport.org.
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