Pro Bono: Branding A Non-Profit Organization
With globalization catching up, even Non-Profit Organizations need better positioning to be successful organizations. Instead of me lecturing you on this, you can better know more about this from Laura Ries.
I was looking to do some pro bono work for a non profit organization and found one named ‘Nirmaan’. It was set-up by BITSians (students from BITS-Pilani) for giving back to the society. I felt it would get a better visibility if it has better branding and I offered my service. I guess they were not keen on brand building. So, the two logos that you see below are a result of pursuing this matter.
‘Nirmaan’ in Hindi means building (verb.) Previously, the organization was known as My India. The main aim of the organization is to work for a better India. So, I used bricks to represent India which means constructing a nation. In the front, you notice two people hugging each other. It stands for brotherhood. The organization believes in the participation of the local community and teamwork. Brotherhood is very important for this. Also, it represents a small ‘n’ which stands for the organization’s name.
I used two colors for the name of the organization. The dark color separates ‘aan’ in the name. ‘Aan’, in Hindi, means Pride.
The blue color for the name symbolizes prosperity. The red represents the energy as it is an organization driven by youth.
I like this one the most among all the logo scribbles. Even among the two portrayed here, I choose this one as it aptly recognizes the mission statement of this non-profit organization.
I used similar colors as of the first logo in the second logo. But, this has two alphabets in it. They are ’small n’ and ’small i’. The small n stands for the name of the organization whereas the small i stands for India.
I thought of doing a pro bono web design if the logo design is approved.
I like the way some Non-profit organizations are branded and one of them is LiveStrong, Lance Armstrong Foundation. The usage of yellow color as their identity is very nice. The website has a yellow look to it and the user will associate yellow to LiveStrong once he’s exposed to this brand for enough time. In this way, its visibility increases and the donations pour in.
If yours is a non-profit organization looking for a designer who would do gratis work, please contact me. I’d be pleased to work for you. Visit my portfolio to look at my works.
Note: The copyright of the name rightfully belongs to the owners of this Non-Profit Organization. I just used it to portray my idea. As of now, what you see above are totally unofficial logos.
Update: This post has brought a ProBono design assignment for a Detroit based Non-Profit Organization for which I’d be working on next.
© 2008 Saawan.
The first logo is an ace class work !!!!!!! Great work Saawan …keep it up !!!
Hi Saawan,
logo is great and ur explanation for it is marvelous.
the front picture, which is representing brotherhood was abstruse for me until i read ur explanation.
if i am not wrong,if possible please try to modify that…else rest all is absolutely perfect!!!
hi saawan,
i jus got a random idea for what i pointed out earlier.
how about drawing a two dark lines on the yellow arms (representing brotherhood) which might look like legs…
@surabhi: Thank you, Surabhi.
@Raghuram: This was the first draft. But, I wonder what was your interpretation before you read the explanation?
hi saawan..
i might belong to brigade of critics…but i wanted to say..
i took the two heads(round ones) to be eyes…now it looks like a disappointed expression..
iam really poor in these aesthetics… plz carry on with ur view..
all the best…
hi saawan,
gr8 work. didnt quite figure it out until u explained. but personally i feel that the color combination u used(yellow and blue over black) conveys gloom. i may be wrong. But otherwise its just gr8. keep rocking.
@Raghuram: For it to be a sad expression, the ends of the mouth wouldn’t be so long. Every logo is not self explanatory. For instance, the three pointed star of Mercedes Benz. What do you make out of it when you first see it? On doing a li’l research you’ll know that each arm of the star stands for their domination of land, sea, and air.
@nagapraneeth: I matched the background color with my blog color. After the changes, it should look ok. Please refer to my reply above to Raghuram’s comment.
@Midhun: The map is an abstract but not exact one. From enough distance, people do recognize that it is India map. I gave an outline so as to make it distinct and also the black fill serves as a better background for the logo.
yeah…it looks good now..
Great logos. I personally liked both, but the first is more appealing, to the the mission of the org - as far as my relation with it goes. By the way - I do not see any of the logos available on the official website of Nirmaan…are you working the logistics to get it on web??
Thank you, Satish.
I contacted one person whom I know personally. But, after a long time, I didn’t receive any reply. I did these logos even before contacting and so, I thought they would make a good post on my blog and thus posted ‘em here.