Upper Valley Racial Literacy Fellowship
Brand Identity, Print Design, Web Design
UVRLF is exists to inspire and equip young leaders to become reflective change agents in their schools and communities through an experiential learning inquiry centered on the history and legacy of racism in the US. Students explore their own identities and conceptions about race, travel to historical sites in the deep south, and return home to demonstrate their learning through capstone projects. We worked with UVRLF to develop their brand identity, website and print materials.
Icon Genesis
The icon has been constructed by re-organizing and re-imagining the universal symbol for empathy. Nested deep at the core of racial literacy work is the ability to foster empathy and create ideal conditions for it to flourish. By adjusting the proportions of the two extending lines, and centering them on each other, we build on the concept of two disparate parties reaching across the divide and opening up to understand each others’ perspective. In our icon, we create one, unified entity, that within itself contains multiple contrasting perspectives. Another way of describing this most human phenomenon is intersectionality. Further, The UVRLF icon depicts the intersection of three lines, which represent individuals, communities, beliefs, or any categorical way humans divide ourselves. A supreme distillation of the concept of intersectionality.
The UVRLF icon is also a spark. Expression radiating from a central moment of combustion, the spark is an indispensable moment for educators and students alike. As educators, we seek creative and individual means to ignite our students’ passion. Students are most likely to engage in their studies if they are brought alive by an explosive curiosity. Our greatest hope is that we can spark a passion in our fellows for critically engaged civic leadership in their communitites.
Finally, the UVRLF icon is an asterisk. A grammatical device used to call attention to an area of import. The asterisk is instantaneously effective at grabbing attention, and also expands a conversation by referencing footnotes or further reading. It is a beacon of importance, and a means of directly calling out value.
The logoypte is inspired by civil rights era protest signage, much of which was hand-painted by everyday people, our logotype and brand typography are simple, stark, and no-nonsense in both style and application.
