CASE STUDY
The I’m Determined Project
Helping Youth with Disabilities Reach for the Stars
The Opportunity
I’m Determined is a project empowering youth with disabilities with the resources and skills needed to succeed in school, their personal lives, and beyond. They needed an updated brand identity to better reflect their personality and values, and an updated website to better serve youth, their families, and educators.
Approach
We brought in key audiences at the discovery phase. This allowed audience members—youth with disabilities, educators, and families—to define user needs and brainstorm appropriate solutions. Audiences weighed in on everything from color and typography to web accessibility issues and resource needs.
Together we created a vibrant, joyful brand, website, and resources that value inclusivity, diversity, and accessibility.
My role
Design Lead responsible for branding, creative vision, website design, activity design, accessibility, discovery workshops, and presentations. I worked collaboratively with a kick-ass cross-disciplinary team, (the most-amazing) client stakeholders, and an impressive group of young people who taught me about self-determination.
Web Awards
The Communicator Award, 2022
WMA Award, 2021
The Vega Award, 2021
Davey Award, 2021
Logo & Branding
“We are fun, diverse, and determined. We value inclusivity and accessibility. And we need a brand that better reflects these values.” — Client
The new brand features a colorful, vibrant palette, typography designed to make shapes easier to see, and illustrations that celebrate diversity.
Designing with our audiences was key to this project and I invited interested Youth Leaders to participate in the process. I created a youth-friendly Creative Brief and offered multiple ways for participants to express and submit their ideas. The result was amazing! We received key words, imagery, and ideas that were personal and profound. I then translated submissions into designs, each based on the ideas offered by the Youth Leaders.
“We are powerful, like a superhero. With support and self-determination we can do anything and reach for the stars.”
Original Logo
Audiences described the original logo as colorful and fun, but too ‘young’…and soooometimes creepy. They wanted something more age appropriate while still maintaining the energy of the original.
New Logo
The final logo features a rocket, or comet-like structure, that also resembles a person (a nod to our Youth Leader’s superhero concept). The structure is propelled upward by three forces, each representing a key audience group: youth, their families, and educators. This represents the foundational principle of the I’m Determined project—with support, you can reach the stars.
Logo Creation
I worked with two additional visual designers to create a range of logo options, each based in concepts provided by the Youth Leaders. I presented the story behind each logo ensuring the contributions from the youth, families, and educators remained at the forefront.
The team ultimately decided on the rocket logo, but wanted something more abstract without losing any of the symbolism. A couple of days—and many sketches later—the new I’m Determined logo launched (ha, see what I did there?).
“A huge shoutout to Kim for a beautiful logo and brand refresh. The client absolutely loves it. I’m really proud of the effort you put in, the results you’ve churned out, your rapport with the client, and how you’re representing the company and our team.”
More Than A Logo
A brand is more than a logo. A brand demonstrates values, it’s both a promise and an expectation set at every touchpoint. We worked with the I’m Determined team to refresh their brand landscape creating a voice & tone guide, a brand guide, an updated website, and updated resources & activities with custom iconography.
A sample of brand assets that show off a colorful palette that prioritizes color contrast and readability.
“If I’m Determined was a color, it would be a rainbow. We are diverse and colorful. One size does not fit all.”
Website Design
This Wordpress build used a component-based approach for flexibility and scalability. We defined key content types and components, added filtering to the resource library, and—based on direct input from audiences—created a home-base for each audience. We planned for a website that would be simple, organized, accessible, vibrant, easy to use, and could grow with the needs of the program.
With wireframes complete and a fresh, fun, audience-inspired brand in place, the website came to life.
The design incorporated the updated color palette and typography. It mixed illustration with photography. And added layers of waves and hills, which were inspired by the Youth Leaders who reminded us that their journey isn’t always easy. There are ups and downs. There are hills to climb. But with support and self-determination, you can succeed.
Fun fact
The logo included three forces that propelled the rocket in an upward motion, one red, one teal, and one yellow. These represented our three audience groups. We carried this color theme to the website, using color as one way to reinforce each audiences’ section of the website.
Quote from Chloe, Youth Leader: “I’m Determined is what gave me a voice and taught me whatever I want to do, I have to be self-determined and advocate for myself. Advocating for myself has helped me advocate for other people.
Impact & outcomes:
A fun, vibrant brand that prioritizes inclusion, diversity, and accessibility
A flexible component-based website with improved user experience and accessibility
A strong foundation that continues to grow with I’m Determined to meet the needs of the program, youth with disabilities, their families, and educators
Impact on me:
This project offered the opportunity to really connect with the client team and their audience. Review meetings were always fun and collaborative. We were able to laugh, joke, and think deeply about the work we were doing. This client and this project were true highlights. I’m grateful and honored to have been a part of the journey.