Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

A recent study published by the University of Chicago followed a sample of young adults for six years, from the time when they were 17 or 18 years old and still living in temporary foster care. The results were troubling.  Only 7% of the young women and 5% of the young men had even an associate’s degree.  Fewer than half currently had a job, and most of those working were not earning a living wage (more than one quarter had no income from employment during the past year and half who had worked reported annual earnings of $8,000 or less).  Nearly 40% of these young people have been homeless or “couch surfed” since leaving foster care.  Most notably, as a group, these young people were less educated, more likely to be incarcerated, more likely to experience homelessness, and less likely to be employed than their peers who entered adulthood as part of a permanent family.

To bring awareness to this issue, and to better connect individuals with ways in which they can get involved, CASA of Allegheny County and the Allegheny County Department of Human Services banded together to host a rally on the steps of downtown Pittsburgh’s City-County building. Along with organizing talks by local former foster children, CASA and DHS also mobilized a “flash mob” with CASA and DHS staff members carrying life-size cut-outs representing the number of children currently within the foster care system.

To help support the promotion of the rally and drum up awareness for the Forgotten Child Campaign, I worked with CASA of Allegheny County to “brand the issue” itself, giving the Forgotten Child Campaign a unique identity and setting it apart from their other efforts. Along with postcard-sized handouts, we designed and set up a dedicated micro-site and communication mechanism to collect information from those interested in helping or attending the rally and to carry the momentum for the effort long after the event had past. The event was attended by over 100 people.

View the Forgotten Child Campaign website >

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

Results Unlimited Universal is a classic example of a business reviving its formal self and reinventing its presence. After a long hiatus, RUU has asked me to help them reemerge into the event and meeting planning marketplace with a fresh identity. Ready to take on the challenges of planning amidst global logistical and technological complexity, RUU requested a clever mixing of its own personality with a wide-reaching perspective for its new mark.

With help from the illustrative talents of friend Kurt Hess, the delicate “world-in-your-hands” rendering was achieved with strong graphical weight, while also hinting at RUU’s identity from years earlier, helping with recognition.

I’ll be rolling out other materials for RUU in the near future, so be sure to keep your eyes on this feed for more.

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (Freelance – Pro Bono)

The friendly group at Greater Harmony Chorus in Pittsburgh, PA (a division of the Sweet Adelines International singing group) asked for a bit of help sprucing up their identity. I agreed, and donated a bit of logo development.

Using an abbreviated version of the brand exploration process used with Emmanuel Christian Church, I was able to expedite the process for them, making responsible use of everyone’s time. It was a great way to field-test this process again, and I can’t say enough about the ability of this approach to uncover some great insight about a brand’s personality. Thanks again, DK Holland!

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

The identity for Emmanuel Christian Church marks the first step in their approach towards an entirely new branding program. With a renewed focus on outreach and engaging their community in Pittsburgh’s Northside neighborhood of Brighton Heights, Emmanuel is committed to reshaping their church, making themselves more accessible, inviting and becoming a bright spot in their community.

Leading up to this identity redesign, I worked together with Emmanuel’s pastoral staff to carefully consider a range of branding “markers,” including:

Reputation: How well is your organization known?
Esteem: How highly regarded are you?
Relevance: How important are your organization’s mission and activities to the concerns of the audience?
Differentiation: Are there others that do what you do? What makes you different than them? What  makes you the same? Where are the points of  “alignment”?

We also underwent an in-depth profiling exercise (as outlined by DK Holland in her book, Branding for Nonprofits), where we looked closely across a spectrum of issues in order to craft ourselves a creative brief to work against. These items we examined were:

• Profile
• Context
• Positioning
• Audiences
• Personality
• Current  Situation
• Budget
• Schedule
• Design Media
• Technical / Practical Requirements

Following through on this examination proved incredibly valuable in helping us uncover many of the reasons why Emmanuel stands out among many established and emerging churches. The results of our preliminary work together provided the basis for an identity and branding program that not only stands out among other Christian evangelical churches, but has made Emmanuel confident they now possess a voice that expresses their core values and personality as closely as possible.

// Emmanuel Christian Church Background /

According to Tom Fodi, Associate Minister of Community Involvement, Emmanuel Christian Church exists to:

1) Proclaim that Jesus is Lord (preaching and teaching), 2) Love God (worship), 3) Serve the world (community involvement), and 4) Witness to humanity the salvation made available through the sacrifice of Christ.

Firm: Daniel Pipitone (freelance)

Taking into account the founder’s “vision,” an identity was created surrounding the idea of that Vision Marketing Group (VMG) is committed to working with clients who “understand the value of strategic thinking and appreciate how far our vision can take them.”

With this in mind, an identity was created to help launch VMG into their market with a clear focus and the ability to make an immediate emotional connection with potential clients. An enlightened feel and emotive “sunburst” graphical approach carry the identity.

/ VMG Background /

While their roots are planted in Western Pennsylvania, Vision Marketing Group’s reach extends far beyond. From their base in Punxsutawney, and with offices just outside Pittsburgh, the founder and his three sons work with an array of specialists in fields from branding to broadband, from market positioning to multimedia, from copywriting to corporate identity.

Visit VMG on the web >