YMCA
For the YMCA of Santa Clara Valley, which comprises 14 clubs and camps, we developed an updated positioning and design program to more effectively represent the current “Y."
Challenge
The YMCA has been around for over 100 years and is an important part of every community it has a facility in. Unfortunately, compared with other youth programs, health clubs and camps it was being seen as overly traditional and out of step with Silicon Valley culture —even though it’s programs were often innovative and very popular.
Additionally, as a non-profit organization it didn’t have the budgets to hire qualified staff or agencies to maintain its marketing and internet initiatives. So any materials designed would need to be edited and produced by novices.
Solution
We met many times with committees representing all parts of the regional “Y” organization to understand what they did that was most important to their members and local community. Also to discover what was new or coming that would make the Y a more valuable local asset.
From the meetings a story and brand strategy emerged that focused on the use of 1-3 key words, tailored to fit the key communication contexts e.g. membership, programs, health, camp, community and fund raising.
The use of 1-3 key words placed in a colored, semi-transparent bands placed over photos of members become the unifying graphic element on anything created whether in the print or online world.
Templates and guidelines were designed to accommodate the use of free or inexpensive office software to produce al materials. The software was familiar to all computer users so novice staff and volunteers could execute professional looking designs that also properly represented the Y from a messaging and brand-quality perspective.
In the past four years the program has been deployed across 14 websites, hundreds of brochures, program guides, print ads, online ads, fund raising materials and their annual report with raving reviews in response.
Challenge
The YMCA has been around for over 100 years and is an important part of every community it has a facility in. Unfortunately, compared with other youth programs, health clubs and camps it was being seen as overly traditional and out of step with Silicon Valley culture —even though it’s programs were often innovative and very popular.
Additionally, as a non-profit organization it didn’t have the budgets to hire qualified staff or agencies to maintain its marketing and internet initiatives. So any materials designed would need to be edited and produced by novices.
Solution
We met many times with committees representing all parts of the regional “Y” organization to understand what they did that was most important to their members and local community. Also to discover what was new or coming that would make the Y a more valuable local asset.
From the meetings a story and brand strategy emerged that focused on the use of 1-3 key words, tailored to fit the key communication contexts e.g. membership, programs, health, camp, community and fund raising.
The use of 1-3 key words placed in a colored, semi-transparent bands placed over photos of members become the unifying graphic element on anything created whether in the print or online world.
Templates and guidelines were designed to accommodate the use of free or inexpensive office software to produce al materials. The software was familiar to all computer users so novice staff and volunteers could execute professional looking designs that also properly represented the Y from a messaging and brand-quality perspective.
In the past four years the program has been deployed across 14 websites, hundreds of brochures, program guides, print ads, online ads, fund raising materials and their annual report with raving reviews in response.
The design system was adapted for the Annual Report to let photos of actual members tell
much of the story.
much of the story.
Website templates allowed for a brad range of text and photo content that best fit the 14 different regional websites.
Brochures and ads employed a simplified format while maintaining the design integrity of the system.
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