826 Valencia is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting under-resourced students ages six to eighteen with their creative and expository writing skills while helping teachers inspire their students to write.

My Role
As 826 Valencia Design Director, I was responsible for shaping and evolving the 826 Valencia brand while leading the design, production, and project management of all communication and publishing projects. I worked closely with cross-functional partners and the in-house and extended teams through the entire creative process providing direction and ensuring the quality of the creative work. I inspired and mentored the team while fostering teamwork, idea exchange, and growth.

In this intance, I collaborated with the team on the design and production of all the different pieces. I assembled the team, delivered the design presentations, created the schedule, and oversaw the workflow to make sure we met our deadline and stayed within our budget.

Responsible for creative direction, art direction, prepress, press check support, and project management

Skills
Creative Direction, Art Direction, Project Management, Brand Development & Implementation, Print Production

Tools
Adobe CC, Google Suite, Pantone Color Book

Deliverables
Stationery System
Mailing Label
Donation Envelope
Thank You Card
Digital Newsletters
Event Banner
Style Guide

Setting
We partnered with Volume Inc. to redesign the 826 Valencia website. During this process, Volume refined our visual identity, infusing it with a more whimsical and quirky aesthetic to better reflect the organization’s unique personality. Following the website redesign, we needed to extend this updated look and feel across all channels and touchpoints to ensure a cohesive brand presence.

Challenge
The newly redesigned website served as the sole guide for evolving the brand’s visual identity and designing collateral. Our challenge was to translate its typography, color palette, and illustration style into a cohesive visual language that could be carried across multiple materials, ensuring consistency and versatility while addressing the unique needs of each medium.

Approach
We began by designing a letterhead system, setting the foundation for the updated visual identity. From there, we expanded the brand across stationery, newsletters, event banners, and more, incorporating additional graphic elements to enhance flexibility and cohesiveness.

Impact
This project successfully unified 826 Valencia’s brand across digital, print, and event platforms, establishing a cohesive and engaging visual identity that strengthened the organization’s outreach and impact. By unifying its visual identity, 826 Valencia enhanced its ability to inspire and connect with donors, students, and educators, bolstering its mission to foster creativity and literacy in under-resourced students.