Volunteer: Brand Identity & Logo Design for Elev8 Villages

About the role

This is a volunteer opportunity provided by Taproot Foundation, a nonprofit creating social change through pro bono connections. Elev8 Villages is building a new model of community for young adults aging out of foster care, designed to cultivate human potential through belonging, stability, meaningful relationships, education, employment, mentorship, and opportunities to contribute.

Project goal

As Elev8 Villages prepares for greater national visibility, we need a visual identity that communicates the depth and possibility of our vision. Our current logo unintentionally leads people to categorize us as a housing organization, limiting the story before we have an opportunity to tell it. Elev8 Villages is much bigger than housing. We envision holistic villages where young adults have a home while also gaining access to coaching, education, job and life skills, meaningful work, mentors, community, long-term relationships, and opportunities to discover and develop their unique gifts. At the heart of all of it is belonging.

Creative brief

We want our visual identity to reflect the hope, possibility, human potential, connection, and sense of belonging at the heart of Elev8 Villages. We often think of Elev8 as a beacon, a light that helps illuminate a pathway toward a different future. We have previously worked on elements of our brand identity, which helped us recognize that our current logo no longer adequately communicates who we are becoming. We now want to work with an experienced brand identity or logo designer who can listen deeply, explore concepts with us, and translate the heart of Elev8 Villages into a distinctive and enduring visual identity.

Deliverables

• Discovery and creative exploration of several initial logo concepts
• Refinement of the selected concept through collaborative feedback
• Primary Elev8 Villages logo
• Secondary/alternate logo lockups for different applications
• Standalone brand mark or icon that can be recognized without the full organization name
• Horizontal and stacked versions where appropriate
• Square/social-media-friendly version
• Full-color, one-color, black, white/reversed, and grayscale versions
• Versions designed for both light and dark backgrounds
• Transparent-background versions
• Scalable vector master files for professional printing and large-format signage (AI, EPS and/or SVG)
• High-resolution raster files for digital and print applications (PNG and JPG)
• Web-optimized versions for website and digital communications
• Social media profile/avatar assets
• Favicon or simplified digital icon, if appropriate
• Basic guidance for logo usage, including clear space, minimum size, approved color treatments, and examples of incorrect usage

Scope and applications

The logo system needs to function successfully across a wide variety of applications, from a small social media profile image or website header to letterhead, presentations, printed materials, apparel, event signage, vehicle graphics, and large-format displays used during our national tour. Success will mean that we have one cohesive visual identity that is recognizable, flexible, professional, and unmistakably Elev8 Villages.

Mission

We provide holistic eco villages where vulnerable youth transform.