CASE STUDY: Rebranding RichmondLAND
How can an organization brand its transformative vision of community-controlled land and housing development as a viable alternative to gentrification?
Richmond, California is a historically Black city bordered by gentle rolling hills and the shores of San Francisco Bay. But it is defined most often for its crime and oil refinery, remnants and reminders of racial segregation, economic inequality and environmental injustice. Residents have made hard-won progress to improve their quality of life, and raise the city’s profile in the East Bay over the years.
The city’s progress along with its stock of affordable housing and proximity to San Francisco turned it into a desirable real estate market. Moneyed interests fueled new land developments that began to push out historic residents, largely low-income people of color. Seeing gentrification take hold of their neighborhoods and sideline their communities, local residents rallied and organized.
One of those organizations, the Richmond Community Development Enterprise, approached me to help them rebrand their organization. The following describes the steps we took to navigate this journey.
Challenge.
Guide clients through a renaming and rebranding process. Design a brand that resonates with Richmond residents and reflects the organizations vision for community-controlled equitable land and housing.
Outcome.
Combined imagery of homes and a fragmented heart to symbolize the organization’s reparative work in housing development. Designed in the style and vibrant colors of the mosaic walls and murals that dot the city’s neighborhoods.
Moodboard created with images I took and researched on Richmond.
Branding Process.
Brand Discovery.
Prepared naming guides and a branding questionnaire for client to complete. Created a design brief based on their responses and our conversations around them. Consulted them throughout the rebranding journey and generated surveys to facilitate decision-making.
Market Research.
Researched the branding of related organizations and companies. Presented clients with an analysis of my findings in how to create a unique brand within their landscape. Further dialogue helped to outline goals and strategy.
Sketch & Iterate
Prepared moodboards and sketches of initial concepts. Selected the best options for further development with client input.
Present.
Presented final proposals with deck that explained how the design choices aligned with the goals and strategy we developed through the stages of brand discovery and market research. Deck included real world mock-ups and color variations.
Revise
Refined designs based on feedback from client after the presentation. Presented new proofs for approval.
Final Delivery.
Created a brand style guide and produced a library of assets for online and print media. Followed-up with client after launch to ensure assets were meeting their needs, and to make any changes or additions needed.
The Two Proposals
proposal 1.
Design was inspired by the mosaic walls and murals that dot the city neighborhoods and the reparative work of the organization.
How does it stack up to related organizations?
Slide from presentation deck showing logo in comparison to other similar local community organizations and real estate developers.
proposal 2
Design was inspired by the neighborhood block corners, mosaic walls, and geography of the city.
Final Design
“ I would recommend him to others in a heartbeat.”
“Working with Chris was such a remarkable experience. I really appreciated the care, thought, and attention to detail he put into our branding process. He provided us with a beautiful logo and a comprehensive branding identity guide and additional resources to implement a full-scale rebranding process with ease. I learned a lot from our partnership and I would recommend him to others in a heartbeat.”
— Valerie Jameson
Founding Director, RichmondLAND