Case Studies

The Child Abuse Prevention Center of Riverside County was undergoing a major organizational makeover. New staff, new office, new funding, and new programs were transforming the non-profit service agency, bringing it to a higher level of professionalism. They needed to reflect this to others. Executive Director Ruth Kantorowicz wanted to the shed the small “mom and pop” shop image for a fresh identity that would convey the new vision of the organization.
The budget for the project was extremely tight, so we were limited to designing the needed logo, letterhead, and a simple newsletter template. We provided the basic elements to them in a format that they could build on for their specific marketing needs.

Challenge: Create a contemporary logo for an existing organization that will reflect a strong emphasis on children and families, convey the corporate vision, and stay within strict budget limitations for usability.

Old Logo: The staff felt the previous logo was inappropriate and out of touch for the Center. It was too “cute” and mildly offensive, in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. They needed a logo that would cross gender, racial, and economic barriers to avoid classic stereotypes and be completely un-offensive to the entire community.

New Logo: We developed a clean, simple graphic for the bug. It appears as a simple graphic at first. Upon closer examination the viewer experiences an “aha” moment as he/she realizes the picture is actually a small child surrounded by four adults entirely linked. The “aha” moment adds retention quality.

Color: Once the graphic was selected, choosing an appropriate color became the greatest challenge. Color is a powerful communication vehicle. Many social organizations have adopted a color to represent their cause. Red is associated with AIDS awareness and drug prevention. Pink is associated with Breast Cancer awareness. Yellow indicates support for the military. Purple was ultimately picked to represent the Center because of its limited racial and social connotations and because it doesn’t strongly represent a particular social cause.

Other Options: This option was our personal favorite for it’s visual qualities. However, the CAP Center selected the 2-dimensional, 2-color version because it would be more economic for printing purposes and more versatile to use with different types of publications and reports.

Result: The Center staff fell in love with the logo. They hosted a formal luncheon for government and community leaders to introduce the new look. They constantly receive positive comments and praise from colleagues. Purple is the fundamental color for the organization. And they have adopted a new tag line, based on the logo, to express their purpose - “Surrounding Children With People Who Care”.