INTEGRATED BRAND/ID CAMPAIGN
PROJECT Overview
Integrated Brand/ID Campaign
African American Art & Culture Complex, San Francisco, CA
Brand Strategist · Creative Director · Visual Identity Designer · Web Designer
We led the full engagement — from initial research and stakeholder facilitation through brand architecture, identity system development, and website redesign.
Change Consulting, LLC., Oakland, CA
Align Mission, Community, and Investment
The core challenge was to build a comprehensive brand identity that honored AAACC’s mission and values while resonating with its community and stakeholders. With a 1.3 million dollar grant dedicated to rebranding and renovations, the strategy needed to galvanize support from staff, community members, the board of directors, and institutional partners, ensuring everyone saw themselves reflected in the new brand.
Creative Direction
When the African American Art & Culture Complex embarked on a $1.3M renovation and rebrand, the work needed to do more than look good.
It had to reflect the mission. Honor community history. And unify stakeholders across staff, board leadership, funders, neighborhood partners, and community creatives, all of whom needed to feel seen and represented in the final result.
This was not a branding exercise. It was a community trust-building process that happened to produce a brand.
The Approach
We started by listening.
Before a single design decision was made, we conducted deep research into AAACC's history, mission, and community values. We facilitated sessions with staff, board members, funders, and neighborhood partners — ensuring every voice that needed to be in the room was in the room.
From that foundation, we mapped the organization's program architecture, clarified their audiences, and built a visual identity and website that allows AAACC to communicate with clarity, dignity, and cultural authority.
Every element was designed to hold the full weight of what this institution represents — not just what it does.
Outcomes
A brand identity that is memorable, meaningful, and rooted in shared purpose
Visual and narrative systems that unified a complex multi-stakeholder organization
A rebuilt website that reflects the mission and serves diverse community audiences
An institution that can now walk into any room, funder, civic, community, and be immediately legible
AAACC didn't just get a new brand. They got the infrastructure to carry their story forward on their own terms.
GRAPHIC ELEMENTS: CONSISTENCY IN EVERY DETAIL
