California CompetesSupporting California’s higher education & workforce with an extensive online research resource
California Competes: Higher Education for a Strong Economy aims to solve the state’s social and economic problems by conducting rigorous higher education and workforce policy research. They execute their mission through four main strategies: research, governmental affairs, advocacy, and collaboration with key partners. California Competes needed a fresh look, a more organized resource hub, and an updated interactive map to help decision makers find data quickly.
SCOPE
Branding Strategy, Logo Design, Digital Strategy, Web & UX Design, Custom Web Development, Report Design, Print Collateral
INDUSTRY
Policy & Research Nonprofit
LOCATION
California
YEAR
2023
The Challenge
Our main goal for this project was to clearly and easily provide access to information that allows state decision makers to make better-informed decisions and advance policies in California. We needed to display cohesive storytelling about the organization, helping further establish them as a trusted and valuable source of important data. California Competes also wanted to update their brand style to one that better demonstrates its character and style.
Insights
Through our brand and website discovery sessions, we learned that we needed to appeal to an educated, professional target audience. Unlike many think tanks, California Competes connects bipartisan efforts, working for the good of the state of California. We wanted to portray a feeling of collaboration, not competition. Through the design, we need it to feel trustworthy, honest, objective, and dynamic.
The Results
Using bright, strong colors, we redesigned their brand to give a sense of the scholarly sage. We wanted the design to feel related to a collegiate tone. Using bold sans-serif fonts mixed with large serif fonts, we designed their brand to stay out amongst the crowd, displaying their confidence and professionalism.
Most importantly, we built a site to organize and house hundreds publications and webinars, making the user journey easier for their partners to find what they need. Partners can filter by field, need, or search their extensive library.