Brand | Content | Photography | Illustration
Gigi's™ Brand Development and Community Impact
01
OVERVIEW
About
Expansion into direct-to-consumer services
Founded in 2018, Gigi’s started as a B2B nonprofit working with Southern Ohio shelters to bring dogs to its advanced 26,000 square foot facility for medical and behavioral care. After treatment, these dogs were quickly adopted out through Columbus agencies.
In early 2021, Gigi's expanded to include in-house adoptions and foster care, shifting towards B2C operations to minimize travel stress for dogs and to create direct connections with the community. The goal of establishing direct connections with community would be to create a pipeline of engagement that would convert adopters and foster families into behavior training clients, volunteers, and donors and therefore increase revenue.
Improving the lives of shelter dogs™
Strategy
Strategic Brand Evolution to Increase Community Engagement
With the addition of public facing adoption and foster programs, there was a need to find a way to stand out from other nonprofit animal welfare agencies. Having established a client experience that we knew set us apart from other organizations (in house veterinary care, personalized adoption services, foster to adopt program, post adoption behavioral and training support) but we needed to find a way to catch the community's attention.
To accomplish this, I led the team through the review and expansion of the current branding, developed standards for visual communication, and ultimately activated this work both in print and digital spaces.
02
APPROACH
Color
Evolving the color palette to create depth and increase usability
I was tasked with updating Gigi's color palette, specifically to introduce new secondary colors. The existing palette, dominated by black, white, and teal, needed more variety to avoid a stark appearance however, the marketing team found it difficult to use the current secondary colors.
Observing the frequent use of grassy backgrounds in Gigi’s social media photos, I chose forest green to replace navy, adding warmth to the palette. To complement the green, I considered a lively color and decided on soft pink, inspired by retail trends and the natural scene of dogs on green grass, their pink tongues adding a playful touch.
Typography
Choosing a more natural handwritten secondary font
Originally, the secondary font chosen to sit off of the primary font, Montserrat, was Caveat. Although the handwritten style of Caveat created nice contrast for annotations alongside Montserrat, Rock Salt was ultimately preferred for its more natural look.
Primary Font
Secondary Font
Illustration
Injecting a modern design aesthetic with organic illustrations
Gigi’s design aesthetic is rooted in a brand voice that aims to demonstrate expertise and professionalism yet be approachable. As a way to balance the sleek minimalism of Gigi’s website and marketing, I created illustrated iconography to add a bit of visual charm.
Brand application across diverse print media
Having printed media was an essential way for Gigi’s to present a cohesive and memorable brand visual both on and off campus. Here, you’ll find Gigi’s branding spanning clothing, fliers, stickers, and even puzzles.
Digital
Creating a delightful and uplifting online presence
Based on the nature of the work that animal welfare organizations do, visuals and messaging can often evoke feelings of sadness, helplessness, and guilt for those who follow along. With this in mind, it was important that Gigi’s connect with the community in a happy, full-hearted, approachable, uplifting, and hopeful way. A major contributor to upholding these brand standards would be through consistent visual content.
Photography
Establishing photo visual standards to achieve brand consistency
Since photographing dogs and adopters was a total team effort, I developed photography standards for the team to follow to ensure a consistent brand visual.
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Ensure all photos are well-lit and in focus.
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Dogs and puppies should have eye contact with the the camera
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Dogs should be photographed outside on grass or in an uncluttered real life room
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Puppies should be held individually or placed on an exam table for photographs.
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Photograph adopters and their new pup before sending home. Take LOTS of photos and be prepared to capture moments of JOY!
Videography
Engaging the community on a deeper level through video content
To engage audiences on an emotional level it was important to utilize video content in a consistent way. Here, I developed the “Teal Leash Alert” video series highlighting the moment when a dog realizes they are getting adopted.
Additionally, I also created weekly videos featuring dogs who had been waiting for a forever home longer than most. The goal here was to show moments of training, playing, and walking on leash to give a adopters better insight into a dog’s personality and help them get adopted faster.
04
IMPACT
Impact
Increased engagement means increased revenue
With all of these efforts combined Gigi’s was able to see growth in community engagement online and with the adoption and foster programs ultimately leading to increased revenue year over year. Here are the numbers:
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13% increase in post social engagement
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48% increase in video social engagement
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Inquiries - 18% increase in adoption inquiries
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Appointments - 79% increase
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Fosters - 20% increase foster output
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Adoptions - 62% of dogs taken in were adopted out in 2022 resulting in over $250,000 in revenue. The rest of the dogs were adopted through adoption partners.