A NICU nonprofit finds new light

Saul’s Light is a New Orleans-based nonprofit that provides support to families with babies in neonatal intensive care units — a traumatic experience for everyone involved. As the winner of Give a Brand! 2018, the organization received a new brand identity, website, and suite of mission-critical marketing collateral. Because their cause is niche and difficult to explain, we gave them a simple but compelling way to tell their story, editorially and visually. And we created a distinctive identity that evokes “baby” without using the ubiquitous pink and blue. A library of custom illustrations gives the brand cohesion and polish — and a positive way to communicate without overdependence on images of babies in incubators.

The Saul's Light logo: arced lettering with a yellow, sun-like dot centered between the words.
The infant child of the Saul's Light founders playing with a design sketch in the Thinkso conference room.
Saul's Light founding couple and child viewing work during the Thinkso 2018 Give a brand design sprint.
The Thinkso and Saul's Light teams reviewing work during the 2018 Give a Brand design sprint.

The founding family—Kimberly, David, and their daughter—sit with the Give a Brand! team for an emotional reveal of the new brand.

“We cannot express our gratitude enough for the amazing work that Thinkso contributed to our small nonprofit. Seeing so many people spend a (very) full day intensely plotting out our logo, design, website, printed materials, etc., was something we will never forget.” Kimberly Novod, Founder, Saul’s Light Foundation
Several Saul's Light Foundation business cards, with the sun-dot logo and the text, Comfort and community for NICU families.

The sweet but professional design of the new business card sends the message that Saul’s Light is an established organization worthy of support. It’s an important signal to give when the founders meet with hospitals and other funders.

The Saul's Light web homepage, with the image of a newborn and the headline, Comfort and community for NICU families.

In collaboration with our technology partner and Give a Brand! sponsor, Surprise Highway, we completely redesigned the Saul’s Light website. The copy-light, visually engaging homepage concisely tells Saul’s Light’s story by identifying “the need” and then explaining how the nonprofit meets it. In this way, it gives donors and NICU families alike an immediate understanding of the organization’s mission and work.

A Saul's Light presentation page with the headline text, A NICU stay can devastate a family in more ways than one.

Thinsko wrote and designed a presentation deck that Saul’s Light can use to educate hospitals and donors and to recruit volunteers. It features custom illustrations and brief text for high impact and easy digestion.

A Saul's Light NICU family guide packet with the title, We're here for you.

Saul’s Light needed a way to communicate their services to NICU families. Instead of another pamphlet that would add to the pile of paper a NICU family collects during this hectic period, we designed a simple folder with clear and comforting messaging to provide a bit of helpful relief.

A round, orange Saul's Light Little Library book plate with text and the foundation logo.
A Saul's Light Little Library stand, with illustrated children's book and plush character toys.

While in the NICU with their son, the founders of Saul’s Light gained a sense of comfort in reading books to their baby. Now, the organization collects and donates books to NICUs for other families to do the same. The reading stations are branded “A Little Library.” We created a book plate that explains their purpose and created branded placards printed on a durable PVC material that, like all other surfaces within the NICU, must be regularly wiped down and sanitized.

A Saul's Light brochure with the title, Having a baby in the NICU is traumatic enough and NICU facts and figures.

Via a combination of emotional visuals and hard-hitting stats, the brochures we created rally donors by demonstrating the gravity of a NICU stay.

A Saul's Light nightlight printed with the foundation's logo and the phrase, Comfort and community for NICU families.
A Saul's Light greeting card with a group of newborns in bundled in pastel blue blankets.

Perfect for adding a soft glow to sterile hospital rooms, we created custom nightlights that also serve as a symbol for the organization’s mission. Saul’s Light can give them to NICU families or as thank yous to donors and volunteers.

A one-of-a kind greeting card extends the brand to correspondence with donors, hospitals, and families.