Elmwood brought together a diverse team of design experts to refine the partnership’s core personality traits and develop its brand identity.
This article originally appeared in LBB Online.
Elmwood, the leading brand and design consultancy, is honoured to announce its part in creating the visual identity for The Economic Justice Partnership, a new initiative launched at the University of Pennsylvania to deliver financial literacy to first generation and low-income college students from minority communities.
The partnership was founded on the belief that minorities in the US have historically been largely kept out of the financial system and prevented from building wealth. In order to bring about change, the programme offers free courses that help young students to understand how they can invest for the future and grow their wealth, particularly through retirement investing.
For each student who successfully completes the course modules, the partnership helps them to open an IRA and deposit $250 so they can begin to save and build wealth for the future, putting in practice what they have learned during the course.
Elmwood brought together a diverse team of design experts to refine the partnership’s core personality traits and develop its brand identity, including its wordmark, signature monogram, typographic system, colour palette, illustration style and website design.
Vibrant colours and illustrations embody its youthfulness, while a sense of refinement and credibility were captured through classic fonts and shapes, remixed for a new generation.
The empowering purpose of the programme was conveyed through the use of subtle contrasts in its visual assets to illustrate a sense of partnership – multiple things coming together for a common purpose. Bold colours and heavy typography were utilised to embody the pioneering nature of the partnership.
“Economic inequality is a reality and major issue in the United States that prevents minority communities from getting exposed to the right information, education, and reaching their full potential,” says Natasha Young, head of client partnerships at Elmwood New York. “All of the Elmwood team on this project, including myself, come from a minority background, so this was an issue that was very close to our hearts. We’re so proud of the visual identity that we’ve created with The Economic Justice Partnership, creating a brand that will help the organisation to fully deliver on its empowering purpose and promote a more economically equal United States.”