Branding, Web Design, & Illustration
National Trust for Local News
The National Trust for Local News is a women-led nonprofit dedicated to preserving community newspapers and keeping local news in local hands. Our team built the Trust’s brand from the ground up, creating a recognizable brand that incorporates custom design elements and strategic messaging.
the objective
From scratch, build a brand that captures the Trust’s mission and vision and create digital and print materials to further establish their organization.
the deliverables
Website, brand messaging, custom illustrations, posters/postcards, deck/newsletter design, and social media strategy and assets.
the opportunity
As a recently founded nonprofit, the Trust was looking to establish a brand identity that captured their role as changemakers committed to ensuring that local press is responsive to and owned by the communities it serves. The Trust provided our team with full creative agency, allowing us to build a visually rich, unique, and consistent brand that we then applied to various professional deliverables.
our solution
Our initial goal was to work with the Trust’s team to understand what they wished to evoke and convey through their branding. Once established, we used their brand to build a website, newsletter template, posters and postcards, and a social media strategy. We focused on creating imagery and design elements that spoke to the Trust’s roots in local communities and news—the illustrations themselves representing small towns and urban areas, local events, and activities that might be mentioned in local papers. We were inspired by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) National Park posters to convey the Trust's value to grow and nurture local community news.
the outcomes
The unexpected visual tone of this project created a space for the Trust team to establish their organization and has led to success with major partners and collaborators. We deeply believe that this passionate team needs to be heard, and value their trust in us to create a public-facing identity. We are fortunate to have an ongoing partnership and have completed additional projects together.
