Designing a Social Impact Brand for the Digital Age

Why attend?

What makes people more likely to believe that a social impact organization is more credible, trustworthy, and effective at advancing its mission? What do people really value in the opportunities they have to engage with a nonprofit or foundation—especially online? And most important, how can organizations maintain their audiences’ attention and mobilize them more quickly towards the change they seek to realize in the world?

The answers can be found at the intersection of brand strategy and design, where an organization’s strategic plan and positioning are translated into tangible experiences that connect people to who they are, what they do, and why it matters. By using brand strategy as the foundation for designed communications, nonprofits provide content creators, designers, technologists, and others the context needed to work together more effectively and deliver meaningful value to audiences that help drive social change.

In this full-day immersion workshop led by Matthew Schwartz and Lexie McGuire, you’ll learn foundational knowledge of nonprofit brand strategy and experience design; and then get hands-on training working through exercises that will improve your ability to align digital communications with the goals and mission of your organization.

Course at-a-glance:

Part 1: Principles: Participants will learn the principles of effective social impact brands by exploring foundational principles of brand strategy and design theory, focused specifically on the needs of social impact organizations.

Part 2: Practices: Participants will work individually and in groups on a variety of workshop exercises to gain hands-on experience establishing and translating an organization’s brand strategy into content, design, and website functionality that are aligned with its vision, values, and mission.

Bonus Materials

All workshop participants will receive:

Constructive Cards: A printed deck of collaborative design exercises
A PDF set of experience design worksheets

Designing for Online Engagement

When it comes to nonprofit communications, it’s no small challenge to capture an organization’s strategy and spirit. As communicators, we’re engaged in an ongoing effort to connect audiences to what matters to them—what they value—by expressing the many tangible and intangible ways nonprofits and foundations make a positive difference for people and the planet. And at the center of this effort for nearly every nonprofit is their website—the most accessible and valuable tool in their communications strategy.

So, how can social impact organizations create brand experiences online that more effectively engage audiences with their missions? How do we translate complex strategies, ideas, and values into digital communications that move us forward? And how can we be more strategic, more collaborative, and less subjective in the creative process?

In this workshop, led by Matthew Schwartz, Founder & Executive Director of social impact design agency Constructive, you’ll learn what it takes to create more engaging, online brand experiences for audiences—exploring strategies and exercises that will align your content, design, and use of technology with the underlying value in your nonprofit’s brand.

Outcomes

Why design is so important to effective communications
How brand strategy improves the design process
Why embracing “brand value” is essential for nonprofit organizations
What social impact experience design is and why it matters
How to frame communications decisions within a brand strategy
Brand experience design workshop activities

Intended Audience

Intermediate
CEOs, executive directors, upper management
Fundraising & development staff
Marketing, communications, external affairs

Designing Your Brand for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Headed to ComNet18 in San Francisco?

Get there early and register for our pre-conference workshop, With All Due Respect: Designing Your Brand for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

What You’ll Learn:

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are ubiquitous values in the social impact sector, increasingly emphasized in organizational and programmatic strategies. But are the branding and design choices that define the experiences social change brands create for their audiences contradicting these important values? And as a result of failures to embody a commitment to DEI, are organizations missing valuable opportunities to connect with new communities, partners, and funders?

Join our brand strategy and design team leads for a presentation and discussion on how your organization’s diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies are translated into meaningful messaging, design, and experiences—from the big picture down to the smallest, seemingly minor details. You’ll learn the fundamental underlying principles of designing for DEI to share with your team, and actionable ideas for incorporating these values into your external communications and design process.