Basalt Education Foundation
SCOPE
Annual Fund Mailers
Website
Event Branding
SUMMARY
Basalt Kids was founded in 1994 by a group of committed, enthusiastic parents of children in the Basalt public schools. In 2011 the organization rebranded itself as Basalt Education Foundation, with a mission of “raising funds to enhance education in the Basalt public schools.” In 2014, the organization expanded into a 16-20 member board, formalizing and branding its identity in hopes of increasing community investment in its mission. At that time, I, along with my partners at ithree graphic design, was hired to redesign the organization’s logo and brand identity. Since leaving ithree and becoming Brave & Co in 2016, I continued to work with BEF on a variety of projects.
Annual Fund Mailer
BEF’s Annual Fund Mailer typically consists of a 4-panel brochure and a remittance envelope. The challenge each year has been to produce an engaging piece without professional photography.
Most recently, we faced the added challenge of including all copy in both Spanish and English. To simplify the piece and make room for the additional copy, my colleague from BEF and I decided to limit the color palette to the organization’s purple and a dark grey, which also made the piece more subtle and sophisticated. We decided to use a grid made up of teacher quotes and photos from the various funded programs for a striking, stylish, and effective fundraising piece.
2019 annual fund mailer front, back, inside left, and inside right
2017 annual fund mailer front, back, inside left, and inside right
Website
In 2020, BEF needed a website redesign. Their old website, designed by a board member in 2014, was outdated, difficult to navigate, and clunky. The marketing team wanted a complete refresh of the site, with a strong focus on the organization’s results. They wanted a more current website that reflects the professionalism of the organization while also turning the spotlight squarely on the schools and students. They directed me to use photos as much as possible and streamline the content to increase usability.
Event Branding
Shortly after the organizational rebrand, the Basalt Education Foundation asked us to rebrand their signature annual event: The Taste of Basalt. It’s the organization’s primary fundraiser of the year, and it needed an update to reflect the event’s status as a much-beloved and festive community event. Organizers wanted the logo/look to loosely incorporate the two rivers that converge in the town of Basalt and to work well with BEF’s own updated brand. I landed on the fork, spoon, and martini glass with moon in the background as a way to capture the spirit of the fun, food-and-drink focussed event.
event postcard and banner
newspaper ad