Policing Alternatives & Diversion Initiative
Strategy, branding and design execution for Atlanta-based nonprofit offering alternatives to police involvement in community concerns
Client
Atlanta PAD Initiative (PAD) is a non-profit organization that works to reduce arrest and incarceration of people experiencing extreme poverty, problematic substance use, or mental health concerns in Atlanta and Fulton County.
Project
PAD initially called me in to design an infographic to clearly explain their program. After completing that, they rehired me to do an overhaul of their messaging strategy. I conducted initial research, then I led their team through a series of meetings, posed questions and solicited feedback about what was most important to convey to their funders, local police department and residents. Once we got a clear understanding of the work, I combed through their website, removed confusing jargon and added more precise language. I redesigned their site layout and created more informational print documents. And lastly, I led them to a unanimous decision to change the name of their organization to Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiative, which more clearly defines their work now and as they grow.
Expertise
Communications Strategy, Branding Strategy, Logo, Visual Identity, Copywriting, Website Design, Graphic Design
Tools
Zoom, Asana, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, Squarespace
Collaborators’ Roles
PAD’s Executive Director and Community Engagement Manager
Strategy
Communicating the Purpose & Renaming the Org
PAD initially called me in to design an infographic to clearly explain their program. After completing that, they rehired me to do an overhaul of their messaging strategy.
I conducted initial research, then I led their team through a series of meetings, posed questions and solicited feedback about what was most important to convey to their funders, local police department and residents. Yes, they were working with heavy issues like arresting and jailing people, but they were fostering a new approach to community safety and wellness that addressed people’s human needs. It was a sense of dignity, patience and care that they wanted to convey and that’s where I focused their branding strategy.
I created a plan for messaging rooted in their purpose, their track record, their areas of consistency and the emotions they wanted to illicit. Then I conducted an audit of internal and outgoing messaging and named areas for improvement before beginning to work on them.
One of the biggest changes I led them to was a unanimous decision to change the name of their organization to Policing Alternatives and Diversion Initiative, a name that more clearly defines their work now and as they grow.
Strengthening The Logo & Visual Identity
To align with their branding strategy, I designed PAD’s visual identity to use across all communications. Visual identity is one of the most immediate and direct ways of influencing how someone perceives an organization and interprets their message.
PAD had an existing logo, but none of the other basic elements of a visual identity like brand colors, typography or photographic style. Their logo was a multicolored, detailed skyline of Atlanta with text layered on top, all stuffed into a circle. It was illegible at a distance. I drafted several ideas for their new logo, presented some versions that simplified their existing logo and presented other versions that represented a completely new direction for them. Ultimately, they selected the one that was most aligned with their previous logo, keeping the Atlanta skyline intact, but was streamlined, modernized and had better readability at any size. I gave them 3 versions of the final logo in different file types so they had ultimate flexibility in use down the road.
As for the other elements of the visual identity, I started from scratch. I came up with this color palette and typography that aligned with their wish to feel approachable and warm, but still deliberate.
I also guided them towards use of photography that highlighted the dignity and care that their team members extend in the community. More images public outreach, less boardroom meetings. More daylight, less fluorescent light.
Everything I created for them, I put together in a quick reference guide. That means when staff, volunteers or contractors go to create any kind of messaging no matter where it ultimately ends up, it will be consistent, clear and memorable. Together the logo and visual identity components are positioned to leave an impression on their targeted audiences far more in alignment with their core values than ever before.
Improving The Site’s Readability & Engagement with Copyediting
In my experience, passionate leaders who know all the ins and outs of their organization often struggle to simplify their mission, programs, processes and asks on their website. The website is crucial for introducing new visitors to what an organization is and does at a glance, but also provides the organization with a place to share details of the work to multiple audiences.
My role was to identify PAD’s target audiences and what each group needed to know to be able to move forward with one or more of the organization’s main goals. Once I got that clear, I collaborated with the Executive Director and Community Engagement Manager to revise the language throughout the site.
To improve readability, I reduced jargon and explained PAD’s work in simpler terms, introduced clearer headlines, shortened long, dense sentences and honed succinct snippets of text to allow people to skim.
To improve engagement, I prioritized actions we wanted target groups to take, developed language for calls to action, placed them in the appropriate areas throughout the site and repeated them for ease of access.
Web Design
Introducing the New PAD
PAD’s existing website looked dated on the web and behind the scenes it was hard for their staff to edit. It discouraged people from using it. I switched PAD’s web building platform to Squarespace for its user-friendliness and instructed their team on how to edit content, make new pages and control their back end so they could maintain their website themselves. Today I use Loom to record videos that clients can keep.
I worked with them on their navigational menu as well to group like pages and highlight the most important areas of the site. This allowed them to add more pages as their organization grows. Their menu also features their social media accounts and a bright button for their main call to action.
On the home page, I laid out sections with clear purposes to introduce the public to their organization. Easy to understand headers — “What we do” and “How we do it” — lead into more detailed information that leads further into the site for more.
Within the site, I designed templates that they can reuse with plenty of built in negative space to keep focus on what’s most important and dotted the pages with multiple brightly colored buttons for audience engagement.
Designing for the Atlanta Streets
So much of PAD’s work involves staff and volunteers hitting the streets to introduce Atlanta residents about their options. That means they needed print flyers, tshirts and car decals to. I helped researched local printers for them and coordinated with the best one to make sure their street marketing materials turned out just right.
Over the years, they’ve created their own merch and materials and it’s great to see that I was able to give them a solid design foundation to grow on.