This project is a partnership between For Good, a 503(c) nonprofit located in Braddock, Pennsylvania, and DSI students for a semester-long Communication Design class. In collaboration with fellow peers, we worked to establish and amplify For Good in addition to its community-driven initiatives. We connected with members of the Braddock community and worked closely with the For Good team in brand visioning and storytelling.
Role: Strategist, Copy Writer, Design Researcher
Team: Brielle Mariucci, Maggie Wong, Jenny Lau
Partners: Gisele Fetterman, Kristen Michaels
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THE CHALLENGE
Since For Good was founded in 2017, they have been relentlessly supporting and caring for Braddock and the surrounding communities. In responding to immediate needs and focusing on their work, they’ve never had a professional promotional piece, and have yet to strategize developing a cohesive message and brand voice.
PROJECT GOALS
- Shift away from a resource distribution model towards a mutual aid
centered vision - Strategize how For Good can better measure their impact
- Communicate For Good better to the outside world
- Facilitate a community workshop to discover community strengths and leverage the community’s expertise in order to help define For Good’s mission and vision
What is the current understanding of FG’s mission, values, and structure?
Our team began by conducting initial desk research FG’s community in Braddock, PA, as well as For Good’s organization structure and model.
Areas of Opportunity
Based on our findings, and in working closely with our partners, we identified areas of opportunity in defining the organization’s brand voice so that it aligns with its current values and is a more accurate reflection of not only their organization’s mission and vision, but also the Braddock community’s. Since we knew community members were the best people to tell For Good’s story, we also conducted primary research through several qualitative interviews that uncovered significant additional insights.
Visiting Braddock
Final Prototypes: A Brand Redesigned & Codesigned
Our community visit was exactly what we needed to feel confident about building a new expression for For Good. Our research insights, including from a workshop we facilitated with community members (a combination of long-time volunteers of For Good and Braddock residents), we delivered several prototypes.
Tools to Consider
A part of social innovation work is also capacity building. We produced and recommended tools that For Good’s team can utilize in the future.