CIRA

During our research phase, we conducted a local landscape analysis and national peer analysis to identify the organization’s niche among similar organizations; hosted 10 group listening sessions with leadership, staff and clients; further surveyed staff members and board members; and analyzed data collected by another strategic partner.

Based on this research, we determined an agreed upon “checklist” to judge creative concept options: the brand must be professional, stable, impactful and welcoming from the courtroom to a living room; easy to understand across cultures/languages; inclusive of both organizations; leave room for future service growth; allude to a mission-driven organization that still achieves high-quality results; and reflect the diversity and expertise of its team.

Our journey, which included three facilitated workshops with a task force of organizational staff, leadership and the board of directors, led us to the name CIRA — the Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement. CIRA’s visual brand evokes the paths its clients take, embodies a sense of optimism and hope, uses an intentional palette of multi-cultural colors, and merges the previous organizations’ iconography of a flame and a flower.

To launch the brand, we supported the CIRA team with a comprehensive brand guide and an extensive library of templates, including letterheads, business cards, email signatures, presentation slides, social graphics and postcards. We also collaborated with their team by setting up a new website sitemap and design (CIRAConnect.org) for their content input. We provided public relations assistance by sending out an announcement press release that resulted in coverage from two statewide publications and eight local outlets across the state.