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Equal to the challenge.

An urgent call for change.

The Urban League of Greater Kansas City is a storied civil rights organization with 100 years of service, still fighting for equity and social justice across the city's divided color line.

Challenge

After a century spent fighting social injustice, the Urban League of Greater Kansas City found a new level of challenge during the pandemic when it couldn’t host a live event to drive donations for its centennial celebration.

Moden Consumer Insight

In the midst of 2020’s social reckoning, we needed to honor the legacy of civil rights protest and reflect the new imperatives of the Black Lives Matter movement. Our audience, a community expecting fair and equal treatment for all, demanded more than pleasantries and vague calls for unity. They wanted a voice as urgent and as desperate for change as their own.

Solution

We found our answer in our Idea: “Equal to the challenge.” By using equity and equality as our guide, we created a design system to honor the legacy of civil rights protest and reflect the new imperatives of the Black Lives Matter movement, combining key elements from Urban League history with centennial year branding and messaging as direct and on-the-street as the moment. With this system we created everything from a 100-year mark that builds upon the existing Urban League logo to outdoor communication that purposefully made difficult statements to create dialog and stir the community.

Results

  • $500K

    in donations during 2020.

  • 100+

    new sponsors and contributors.

  • #1

    search result for social justice in Kansas City.

ULKC Case Study 1
ULKC Case Study 2
ULKC Case Study 3
ULKC Case Study 4
ULKC Case Study 5
ULKC Case Study 6
ULKC Case Study 7

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