Rebranding legal assistance in New York City

The New York Legal Assistance Group is one of the city’s premier organizations providing free, high-quality legal services to people and communities experiencing poverty. To better reflect the impact of NYLAG’s work and strategically align with its core attributes, Thinkso designed a new logotype that is modern but established, energetic but stalwart, and accessible while still credible. The custom letterforms are infused with a progressive, horizontal energy, and the underscored L at its center stands for “equality under the law” — something all people are entitled to, no matter their resources. The rebrand included an overview brochure, corporate stationery, a 30th anniversary logo treatment, and brand guidelines.

A parked white mobile truck displaying the new New York Legal Assistance Group logo.
“Though our budget was limited, it was important to us that we get the most out of the redesign process. After a healthy debate, Thinkso helped us create something that is bold, unapologetic, and confident. Just like us.” Brian Pacheco, Director of Communications & Marketing, NYLAG
Bright blue square displaying new New York Legal Assistance Group logotype, with "New York Legal Assistance Group" underneath

The logotype features custom-drawn monoweight letterforms meant to exude strength and forward progress. The underscored L highlights the organization’s dedication to the idea of equality under the law and introduces a graphic motif that can be extended throughout the visual system. It also creates a comfortable way to spell out the full acronym. To emphasize change and modernity, we replaced the dated burgundy red of their old identity with a bright, energetic blue.

A stack of white business cards showing New York Legal Assistance Group logo and employee contact information.
Sample of New York Legal Assistance Group program branding for the Legal Health division, including icon of stethoscope and justice scale.
Sample of logo treatment for New York Legal Assistance Group's 30th anniversary.
Page of New York Legal Assistance Group brand guidelines book with samples of various logo treatments.

We applied the new branding to stationery, designed treatments for sub-branded programs, and developed a simple guideline document to help NYLAG further implement their new identity.

New York Legal Assistance Group brochure cover with title "Fair and equal access to justice for those who need it most."
Introductory pages of New York Legal Assistance Group brochure with the headline "We are NYLAG."
Pages of New York Legal Assistance Group brochure with title "Advancing justice and systemic change in our communities."

We created a print brochure that provides an overview of the organization, highlighting their practice areas, programs and client stories. The underscore is used to give emphasis to NYLAG’s impressive statistics, while the visual framework as a whole is designed to work well with imagery and other content generated by a variety of sources.