CONGRESS HEIGHTS
The community needed various branding and design services, from support to its entrepreneurs to place branding for the entire ward. I began working with one of the community nonprofits focusing on small businesses along the main economic corridor. Their requirements included brand strategy and storefront design improvements to attract the expected increase in foot traffic.
Additionally, several community nonprofits needed brand strategies and branding support to better compete for an influx of government grants and development funds.
Working from recommendations from an urban planning engagement with Georgetown University (and how I initially got involved with the community), I also worked with community leaders to develop place branding strategies to try to infuse a common design language across the neighborhood.
Lastly, several community events were planned in partnership with national nonprofits to attract wider tourism from the broader metro region. I supported these efforts with branding and design support.
I worked with over 50 companies to rebrand them or refresh their logos. I also instructed them on basic branding guidance. Working with the owners of many different types of organizations allowed me to hone my approach in explaining the importance of brand as a strategic asset. It also exposed me to the many different types of client relationships and business needs.
Part of the business corridor improvement program included storefront improvements. I worked with a community nonprofit to prepare grant applications to fund the work for 30 projects.
The community’s pride and self-reliance is evident in the many local nonprofits working to uplift the neighborhood. I provided rebranding, brand strategy, communications planning, and design services to elevate their presence both around the community as well as in their outreach to governmental agencies, business partners, and industry organizations.
The community looked to create a coherent neighborhood brand identity that reflected its energy and heritage. Many of the design motifs that I had developed for the local nonprofits originated from a similar language that the community had adopted. Using this as my guide, I developed a plan for signage at different entry points into the neighborhood.
To attract more visitors from the broader metro area, several events were planned across the neighborhood and adjoining wards. In partnership with Emerson Collective and various city government agencies, various parades, markets, and holiday events were programmed. I designed brand assets for various events as well as marketing collateral for digital and print production. I also developed modular design documents that allowed event planners to easily produce branded flyers and posters on Google or Microsoft programs without having to know much about design.
The design efforts have visibly improved some of the storefronts along the main street. The business owners I worked with feel clearer about how to build their brands. I continue working with the community on different branding initiatives and we remain hopeful that all this effort will translate into greater economic development for the community.
One lesson from this engagement is in the importance of introducing the concept of branding earlier in the company formation lifecycle. By the time company owners are referred to me, they’ve made several critical branding decisions (company name, market position, domain name registration, website launch, etc.) without considering the brand implications. I am currently working with the nonprofit to establish a brand training module that can be embedded in their entrepreneurship bootcamp that would expose founders to these concepts early in their lifecycle.
