ELLEVATE
Women’s Alliance
Brand Guidelines | Concept Brand
Ellevate is a global women's network that provides resources, education, and community to women. Ideally, there are physical locations and an online platform that is a safe space for women to learn, speak, and share their knowledge.
Roles
Product Designer
Brand Designer
Deliverables
Brand Positioning
Tone of Voice
Manifesto
POV
Brand Identity
Logo + Lock-ups
Brand Style Guide
Color usage
Typography options
Project Scope
Timeline: Jan - May 2022 (16 weeks)
Tools:
Adobe Indesign
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Photoshop
Figma
Spline
P R O B L E M
Girls and women lack representation and opportunity.
Effective communication, advice, and feedback are crucial for personal and professional growth. However, accomplished and aspiring high-achieving women struggle to connect, grow, and communicate with each other, resulting in lower exposure, leadership titles, and recognition.
T H E G A P | C O M P E T I T I V E A N A L Y S I S
Competition LACKS supporting individuality & tangible benefits.
While keeping the above statistic in mind, I analyzed popular women's organizations surrounding the support and advocacy space. Currently, entities in this area generally convey a message of supporting the organization, rather than of empowering the individual.
The existing organizations effectively engage donors in supporting women and young girls, but they lack readily available online resources to empower these women and girls in need to become self-sufficient. Consequently, this leads to delayed tangible outcomes, such as reduced funding directly addressing individual needs, and increased investment of time and effort from specific individuals to offer teaching and resource provision on-site.
T H E S O L U T I O N
Accessible information is essential.
By increasing accessibility to personal and professional education and networking resources, Ellevate EMPOWERS GROWTH on the INDIVIDUAL level.
Ellevate provides a communication platform to help high achieving women and aspiring ones connect, receive advice, feedback, and support for their personal and professional growth. Anyone can pull on benefits from the organization in the capacity they need, in the frequency they desire, and on the schedule they control-- in most cases, independent of time restrictions from the organization, other members, and other availability restrictions.
Ellevate enables all women to access and use the resources they need, when they need them.
W H I T E P A P E R R E S E A R C H
The formula that makes up 90% of success...
After further research, I began to draw from research articles on the topic of education, female leaders, and opportunity- when I stumbled upon an eye-opening statistic from Arrow Head Consulting:
"... performance is only 10% of the consideration for promotion. Image and Exposure make up the remaining 90%."
R E S E A R C H | D E S I G N P R O C E S S
To initiate my research, I conducted a competitive analysis to grasp the strategies employed by major women organization websites and identified a gap. Additionally, I examined alternative solutions to identify functional shortcomings. A semiotic analysis was conducted to emphasize the importance of understanding cultural contexts and decoding signs to communicate the brand's values effectively. This analysis allows the brand to actively shape consumer perceptions and engage with audiences on a deeper level, going beyond mere reactive responses.
K E Y R E S E A R C H F I N D I N G S
According to Forgotten Children Worldwide, "In many countries, children—especially girls—don’t get a fair shot at a life-changing education because they are thrust into adulthood far too soon. Every year, 12 million girls are married before they even turn 18, which means that instead of studying for tests, these children are caring for families. Many of these girls don’t even know that other opportunities are possible—because no one has told them."
According to Penn Medicine, “While more women are entering the field of academic medicine than ever before, they are less likely to be recognized as experts and leaders; they are less likely to receive prestigious awards, be promoted to full professorships, hold leadership roles, or author original research or commentaries in major journals..."
M A I N I N S I G H T S | W H Y T H I S B R A N D I S N E E D E D
Access to education: The platform can raise awareness and provide immediate resources to support girls in accessing education and overcoming barriers like early marriages.
Necessitate : The platform can advocate for equal opportunities, mentorship, and recognition for women in academic medicine.
EXPOSURE to Women's Leadership: By providing courses, mentorship, and amplifying women's voices, the platform can foster leadership skills and advocate for women's representation.
Empowers women and girls by providing knowledge and resources.
Enhances access to education and skills development.
Facilitates networking and collaboration opportunities.
Overcomes societal barriers and promotes gender equality.
Supports health, well-being, and reproductive rights.
Promotes professional development and entrepreneurship.
Encourages advocacy, activism, and social change.
D E S I G N | S E M I O T I C S
Ellevate’s name stems from femininity and upliftment. Ellevate was created to focus on women, their lives, and well being.
Ellevate is spelt with two L’s to portray that there are two initial phases with growth.
The first level being your lag phase, the phase where you are adjusting to a new environment before starting exponential growth. It’s your emergence and your acknowledgment to the development of change.
The second phase being exponential. This is where the growth is at a constant, maximum rate. Ellevate is for women to continuously grow, so we focus on these two parts of growth.
Based on the research, I formulated
a comprehensive brand strategy.
Brand Purpose & Vision
Brand Persona & Personality
Brand Voice
Brand Missions & Values
Brand story - Manifesto
Brand Tagline
L E S S O N S L E A R N E D
Changes I would make in the future.
Refined User-Centered Design: Future projects will prioritize direct user-centered design research, ensuring comprehensive testing and feedback from the outset. This approach aims to validate design decisions and strengthen the brand's connection with the intended audience.
Digital-First Strategy: Envisioning a comprehensive UX|UI endeavor, future iterations will embrace a digital-first approach, optimizing the brand design for online platforms and social media. This ensures adaptability, scalability, and enhanced online visibility.
Efficiency Through Design Systems: Recognizing the benefits of design systems, I will explore their implementation in future projects. Design systems promote efficiency and consistency, streamlining workflows while maintaining a focus on the bigger picture. This reflective process reinforces my commitment to refining strategies for impactful and successful brand identities in subsequent endeavors.