Catalyst brand & website refresh

With it’s 50th anniversary event approaching, Catalyst was looking for a brand and web refresh that could carry them into the future with confidence.

⌲ Client: Catalyst SDIC

Celebrating 50 years of impact by laying the foundation for the next 50

The Challenge:

With it’s 50th anniversary event approaching, Catalyst was looking for a brand and web refresh that could carry them into the future with confidence.

By honoring the work and brand that brought the organization to this meaningful milestone, we identified opportunities to create repeatable, scalable, and impactful ways to inject vibrance, emotion, and clarity into their work.

Brand ⌁ Web ⌁ Advertising ⌁ Events

Brand guide development

Rigorous documentation for both growth & consistency

With both seasoned marketing professionals and layman users in mind, we developed a comprehensive guide that started with the dream of effective brand implementation, and landed squarely in the details. Our goal was to remove branding decision-making fatigue while leaving the door open to experimentation, evolution, and innovation—without losing consistency.

⌲ Comprehensive brand guide

⌲ New, vibrant colorways

⌲ Typography with contrast

⌲ Logo-inspired graphic system

Website Refresh

Bringing the new brand online

Applying brand while reworking accessibility
& functionality

Working within the constraints of an existing CMS and structure system, we uncovered a myriad of opportunities to improve accessibility, and user experience—while continuing to hone a powerful brand expression on Catalysts’ digital home base.

Reusable components

70+ block variations to cater to any message—within the brand.

With anticipating future growth as a primary project goal, we wanted to create a system of web components that could scale, move, and be repurposed as the organizational needs shifted. With different layouts, devices, color ways, and page designs to consider, we ended up with a suite of 70+ variations to support long-term brand use.

⌲ Flexible email templates

Brand toolkits to fuel future messages

Templates, assets, tools, and guidance

Knowing the new brand was a more complex and vibrant execution, we wanted to arm the Catalyst team with the tools they needed to maintain high brand fidelity—even if they didn’t have regular in-house skillsets. From social templates to automated emails to deck designs and stationery, the team had an adaptable system to serve whatever needs an initiative might throw their way.

Pulse of the practice report

Landmark collateral to prove out the brand efficacy

Catalyst’s most prodigious annual report was the first testing ground for the new brand in practice. It proved out that the updated identity loses none of the organizations reputational authority, while still injecting vibrance, life, and excitement into even the most technical of documentation.

50th anniversary brand & collateral

A brand platform that extends our new refresh

As a part of the brand redesign, we used the 50th anniversary campaign as an opportunity to demonstrate how the brand could flex for more time-boxed initiatives. We developed a sub-brand guide, a logo and graphic system, as well as templates to be utilized across the various communication platforms.

The Impact

A team confident
about the next 50yrs

With a new, robust brand in hand and a wealth of templates, resources, and guidance, the Catalyst team not only has the tools they need to effectively expand their impact—they have a confidence in their values and identity that will fuel their momentum forward. By honoring 50 years of impact we’ve laid the groundwork in preparation for the next 50.

The team

Strategy & Creative direction
Clayton Rosa
Christian Gilbert

Writing
Frankie Huynh
Clayton Rosa

Deveploment
Craig Fowler

Design
Christian Gilbert