Founded in 1914, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is one of the world’s largest global aid organizations. Seeking to differentiate themselves from other Jewish-affiliated nonprofits and accurately represent their delivery of non-denominational aid, the JDC asked Constructive to strengthen their branding and communications. We partnered to create a design system that provides JDC with cohesion across its global brand and unique visual identities for regional offices worldwide.
The JDC’s historic logo has existed in different variations since its founding in 1914, serving as the charity’s most visible calling card and a connection to its cultural origins as a Jewish nonprofit. While there was understandable resistance to changing such a historic visual identity, everyone agreed that the mark was in need of updating. We designed a logo refresh that retains the organization’s brand equity, exploring logotypes to pair with the JDC’s iconic mark. The result modernized the brand and provided a typographic foundation upon which to build a new identity design system.
Central to JDC’s rebranding was creating a brand architecture and design system to support the needs of regional offices and numerous sub-brands around the world. The organization operates in very different cultural contexts depending on where they are located, which is particularly important when representing a Jewish nonprofit globally. The communications staff varies in each region. And programs differ based on the needs of local communities. To support these diverse needs, we created a robust, flexible design system with regional and sub-brand color palettes, type, photography guidelines, editorial standards, and more.
The JDC operates its global headquarters in NYC and multiple regional offices around the world, each of which requires its own official communications collateral. To distinguish offices and create organizational cohesion, we designed a suite of stationery that builds on the brand’s color system, giving each regional office a unique identifier that works together for multinational engagements.
The JDC’s design system creates cohesion for its global brand while making it easier and more efficient for regional offices to produce strategic communications.
