Voted “Best Cause” by SRQ Magazine, the Hearing Loss Association of Sarasota is a worthy non-profit in need of a branding, design, and marketing boost. As newly elected Board members, part of our volunteer efforts are to help HLAS increase visibility, advocacy and education to the SunCoast community. Under the direction of HLAS President Ed Ogiba, we have created new event branding, such as the Hearing Health Expo, an engaging newsletter template, eye-catching and informative flyers, and soon we will be developing branded advertising and brochures.
The newsletter was our first challenge. The prior format of a word doc with small photos and clip art had served its purpose initially, but now that the organization is growing, they were seeking a more professional look, with large photos and easy-to-read layout. They also wanted a catchy name, and “Listen Up!” worked well as both a call to action and a play on words. Since we could not change the HLAS identity, we worked with its’ circles and colors to create a bold but playful design.
By adapting elements from the newsletter we created a design for the flyers that would ensure a cohesive look for all communications. The big photo arc on the cover became a color bar on the flyer, and acts as a frame to present information in the center without distraction of logos and taglines around the outside.
Event identities were designed to work with the existing HLAS logo by using the same palette, and we picked-up the chunky typeface from the newsletter to create a series of bold, distinctive logos for the Hearing Health Expo, Take Back Your Life, and others.
As HLAS continues to grow and new marketing opportunities are explored, we will be developing materials to ensure their branding has the strength and flexibility to grow with them.