Branding & the Non-Profit: CADREC
When I started out as a freelance designer, many of the projects I worked on were not necessarily "profitable." However, my first experience with an ACTUAL 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization was during college with the Community Alcohol, Drug, Rehabilitation and Education Center, or CADREC. This was a place that people visited because they either were arrested for DUI, DWAI or domestic violence, or needed help to get off alcohol or drugs. It's main responsibility was to provide services that focused on addiction treatment.
The assignment was to work as a group on a web page for the non-profit, but since CADREC had no real identity to speak of, besides a clip-art-looking, barely used logo, we decided to start with that first. After creating an identity, we then had something to start with for the web design.
The branding of CADREC focused on communicating the essence of the center - "Treatment Works," community-centered, experienced and professional - while keeping addressing the mindset of the clientele. Imagine you have just been arrested for DUI and have been ordered to attend a program at CADREC. Now, you might be thrilled that you have this opportunity to get help and the possibly expunge this offense from your record, but, most likely, you feel a deep sense of shame or embarrassment and feel begrudgingly bound to have any sort of contact with CADREC.
How do you brand for people who are adverse to your mission?
In the case of most for-profit organizations these people can simply reject, protest or boycott whatever product they choose. Non-profits have to find a way to deal with people who do not necessarily desire their services.
This is comparable to an anti-globalization protestor being forced to order a drink every day from Starbucks. At first you might say, "That's a win for Starbucks. They get a new customer, right?" Well, yes, but that customer is going to be the most pissed off patron ever! He or she might hold up the line, steal merchandise, or even start fights. Suddenly this becomes Starbucks' problem - this isn't part of the brand experience! Thankfully, for Starbucks, they can mostly ignore their detractors, run a “social responsibility” campaign to gain the moral high-ground, and go back to selling overpriced lattes to an extremely willing populace.
Contrarily, the CADREC brand experience has to be inclusive and accessible to its adversaries as well as supporters - it has to be a common ground. The design has to relate to a number of points of view without condescension or heavy-handedness.
In the case of the embarrassed DUI arrestee from before, the brand experience has to work against a feeling of shame, anger and embarrassment by communicating openness and trust; otherwise it would risk entrenching that person in their negative view of the center and treatment in general. For example, the CADREC web site is easy to navigate so someone can get what he or she needs and get out. The goal for the design is for someone with a negative attitude to think, "Gee, that wasn't as bad as I thought."
In the case of the grateful DUI arrestee, the CADREC brand has to communicate the concepts of hope and professionalism, or else that person might start to have doubts about the outcome of treatment. For example, the logo shows a sun rising from the vantage point of the Five Points area of Denver with italic sans serif type. The goal for the design is to leave people inspired and for them to think, "These people know what they're doing."
Lessons learned:
• The power-shift of pro-bono work - where accountability is ambiguous - is something to be aware of; a designer could choose to be a real asshole in this situation. Additionally, a designer has no incentive to stay if the client is causing tension. Personal relations set the tone of the project, and have the potential to affect the outcome of the work.• Everyone makes their own personal investment in the work, but at different levels. It is often the sheer will of one or more individuals to move the work along. This force can be exerted from either side of the designer-client relationship, but because of the power-shift mentioned above, it almost certainly has to come from the designer(s).
• The issues involved in designing for non-profits are implicitly different than other organizations, products/services or events. In this case, CADREC's clientele consisted of people who possibly harbored contempt for the center and/or shame for having to use its services. These are people who have suffered, or are currently suffering, abuse, addiction, and/or number of psychological issues. Trust, Accessibility, Community, and Hope are all concepts that had to be addressed in every single piece of design for CADREC.
• In a non-profit, design has a different capacity for change than in other, commercial applications. For example, design can change a person’s perception of fizzy water, and motivate them to buy one over another. It can create brands that people identify themselves with, and live their lives by consuming the right amounts of certain products. With non-profits, design can make someone feel comfortable with getting treatment for their alcohol problem, and motivate them to change their life. It can create a brand that people support as a cause to better themselves or others.
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