Create for a Cause (CFAC) is an annual holiday charity event that features a silent auction of artistic goods and benefits a non-profit organization in Columbus, Ohio. For over 16 years, King Business Interiors has partnered with 100 local designers, clients, friends, and family to paint ceramic objects for the silent auction. These objects have ranged from cake plates, wall clocks, and ornaments. The auction helps raise $15,000 - $20,000 for recipient organizations each year.
The King team likes to change the theme of CFAC to reflect that year's featured nonprofit. Because the look and feel of the event collateral changes so much from year to year, the team at King struggled with people not recognizing what the event was when invites were sent out.
Process:
I was originally tasked with creating a unifying brand identity for Create for a Cause. The King team wanted an identity that would be instantly recognizable regardless of the other graphic elements used in the stationery suite. I worked with key stakeholders within King to review their favorite elements of the previous year's designs and determine what was important to them that we keep.
One of the few elements that remained the same year after year was the use of script font to write out Create for a Cause. Keeping a script font in use was the only request the stakeholders had for me.
My main goal was to create a logo that was legible and playful without feeling tied to one particular theme. I customized several characters in the logo to be easily read for those that can't read cursive and adjusted the x-height to help the readability at smaller sizes and when the logo is reversed on busier backgrounds.
The CFAC logo continues to be the grounding element in their Create for a Cause collateral for over 7 years.
Each year, I design a new theme that blends the brand identities of King and the recipient organization. As this event has grown, we've expanded the printed and digital collateral that has to be created each year. In 2024, King sent out physical and digital invites, created a customized event registration website, social media posts, physical and digital event signage, and a printed event brochure. We won "Printer's Choice" in the Columbus Print Association Awards for our 2024 event brochure.
