California Humanities
PROJECT Overview
Brand Strategy, Rebranding, and Annual Report System
California Humanities, Oakland, CA
Brand Transition + Community Realignment
When California Humanities relocated from San Francisco to Oakland, they sought a strategic brand partner to help reintroduce the organization, strengthen its identity, and anchor its presence within the Oakland community. MyGroove Design, Inc. supported the transition by developing a refreshed brand system and communication framework that honored the organization’s legacy while aligning with its new home and evolving statewide role.
Brand Awareness + Digital Experience Evolution
Our work focused on elevating brand awareness and strengthening messaging across audiences. For California Humanities’ new website, calhum.org, we served as brand strategist, art director, web designer, and user experience lead, ensuring a cohesive identity and intuitive digital experience that reflected the organization’s mission and diverse statewide impact.
California Humanities partnered with MyGroove Design® to evolve its brand expression and storytelling system during a period of organizational growth and increased public engagement. The work focused on aligning brand strategy, visual identity, and editorial design into a cohesive system that could scale across digital platforms, annual reports, and public-facing communications.
The goal was not only to refresh visual elements, but to strengthen how the organization communicates its mission, values, and statewide impact to funders, partners, and communities.
Creative Strategy
Our work combined brand strategy, creative direction, and system-based design, ensuring every deliverable reinforced a single narrative voice.
Key strategic pillars included:
Establishing a clear visual hierarchy to support long-form storytelling
Designing flexible layouts that adapt across print and digital formats
Creating a repeatable system for annual reports and program documentation
Ensuring brand elements felt contemporary, inclusive, and mission-aligned
This approach allowed California Humanities to communicate complex information clearly while preserving emotional resonance.
SOLUTION
Brand & Creative Direction
We refined the visual language of California Humanities by reinforcing logo usage, color consistency, typography, and imagery standards. The refreshed direction ensured clarity, warmth, and authority across all touchpoints.
Annual Report Design System
We designed a scalable annual report system that could be reused year over year while still allowing each report to feel distinct. The system supported:
Impact storytelling
Program highlights
Grant recipient features
Data-driven insights
Layouts were optimized for readability, visual rhythm, and digital-first distribution.
Digital Integration
Design decisions extended beyond print, ensuring alignment with website layouts and digital assets. This created a seamless experience across platforms and strengthened overall brand recognition.
Results & Impact
A unified, future-ready brand system that supports long-term growth
Improved clarity and visual consistency across reports and digital assets
Stronger storytelling that highlights statewide impact and community voices
A repeatable framework that reduces friction for future content creation
The consolidated system empowered California Humanities to communicate with greater confidence, coherence, and cultural relevance.
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS: CONSISTENCY IN EVERY DETAIL
From typography and layout grids to imagery and color application, every element was designed to work as part of a cohesive system. This ensured that regardless of format or medium, the brand remained instantly recognizable and aligned with its mission.
