Project Nia is a nonprofit dedicated to ending youth incarceration through the use of restorative and transformative justice practices. They needed clear and evocative (but not inflammatory) tools that would help grassroots activists make real change in their communities. In addition to the new brand identity, messaging strategy, and fully functioning website, we also produced posters, brochures, pins, t-shirts and more — all free of charge as part of our annual pro bono project, Give a Brand! The result is an energetic, empowering brand identity that fights for a better solution to the incarceration issue, and helps this small but powerful organization punch above its weight.
The Give a Brand! Team unveils the revamped Project Nia brand and visual identity to founder Mariame Kaba.
Project Nia is committed to helping activists bring change to their communities. To promote their mission of ending youth incarceration, we created a series of eye-catching posters that are as comfortable hanging on the wall of a classroom or community center as they are in an urban or protest environment.
Thinkso completely overhauled Project Nia’s website, giving it a simple navigation that makes it clear as to how visitors can take action. The “tools for action” section invites supporters to post on social media, access curricula and reports, or donate to the effort. The organization’s new tagline, Community over Confinement, is featured prominently, providing an accessible and well-articulated mantra.
We wrote and designed a variety of digital and print materials to make the case for community-based responses to harm. They include a custom presentation template and a professionally printed Transformative Justice brochure.
For the organization’s logo, Project Nia suggested a circle motif to symbolize connection, building relationships, belonging, and healing. Our design captures that preference, while echoing familiar activist imagery of the past. We also shifted the formatting of ‘Nia’ away from all caps to avoid any confusion that the name is an acronym. The result is a logo that reflects the group’s focus on advocacy, and also looks great on a button.
To further promote Project Nia’s work when Mariame speaks at conferences or other events, Thinkso designed a pull-up banner to help the organization stand out in a crowd.