McLaws

A Disorganized Brand

The All Strings Attached community orchestra group was one of the most memorable parts of my musical career in high school and college. This non-profit group was completely volunteer and ran by an amazing director. But there’s always one thing that non-profits struggle with: their branding and web presence. Understandably, they put every penny they can back into serving the community and a good brand identity doesn’t come cheap. I saw the need for uniformity and eagerly wanted to give back to this wonderful group.

Overcoming

At first, there were some hurdles. Communication wasn’t easy, being 1300 miles apart, and trying to work with several people who all had a part in the current set up (between who owned the domain, website, any logo or graphics created). Other negative experiences with old website or domain owners as well as some ecommerce fraud caused some apprehension. Over time, I was able to calm nerves and help build trust by assuring them that this was THEIR orchestra, THEIR brand, THEIR identity, and THEIR assets to control. I was not there to take control or cause other headaches but to give them a “Carnegie Hall” experience.

Work Began

At first, there was no official logo. I referred back to an old graphic that was on their website almost 10 years prior: which used a clean font and a simple treble clef shape. I fine-tuned that graphic and finalized it into the official logo. Next, I created a brand style guide. This guide laid out the official orchestra name, all proper uses of the logo, fonts, the sizing for print and web, colors, photography standards, and put together the key points of what the organization stood for (which the director created herself).

The Website

10 years prior, the organization had a really nice website. However, somehow this old domain was held on to by an individual of the group, and the organization switched to another domain with a different ending. The switch caused confusion with the community, the website was put together quickly and then consequently not kept up to date. I completely redesigned and programmed the site to clearly show the critical information: upcoming concerts, ways to participate, and contact information. The website is ready for e-commerce and ticket sales, although it is not implemented as of this writing. Online donations were finally implemented in the Spring of 2020 when the COVID pandemic forced shows to be virtually recorded and broadcasted and the donations couldn’t be collected at the performances.

All Strings Attached patrons began increasing the use of the website. The social media interaction greatly improved from the dedicated work of an orchestra member following the brand style.