Creating Central Ohio Futures is a Columbus-based nonprofit that focuses on helping the community thrive. As they launch a new program, Shaping Futures, they needed help creating an identity that connects and compels their target audience.

Shaping Futures will be offering resources and programs to high-school students. The primary goal of the program will be supporting and encouraging the students to explore viable career paths.

When conceptualizing options for their new logo, it was clear we had to land on something that resonated with a Gen-Z demographic and have vibrancy throughout the identity.

After exploring multiple concepts, the clear winner was a logo design with a funky, retro arrow being the anchoring icon. With the arrow pointing forward and upward, it speaks to the promise of the program of propelling students to new heights.

The icon is paired with a chunky sans serif font that gives the logo a bold presence. The secondary font is a slim sans serif that is the main font family of the parent organization, Creating Central Ohio Futures. By sharing a font, it helped tie the programs visually.

We developed a loud color palette, grounded with large amounts of black and white but accented by two vivid greens. The greens add energy to the entire identity.

A large part of the visual system is utilizing the enlarged arrow icon as a supporting element, both as a background and a holding shape for images. The curves and angles of the arrow give visual interest to the layouts. The badge logo also serves as a sticker element, and adds depth to the layouts.

The final result is a youthful identity that will allow the program to reach their target market and establish themselves in the community.