A radical approach to a brand identity was what the client requested for The Legacy Center, a "community cortex" providing equitable resources to youth and educators in the St. Louis 24:1 community. Moving away from the overused and traditional approach of juvenile youth and teen centers, this design utilizes bold iconography and vibrant palettes to engage underrepresented middle and high school students while maintaining the professional sophistication required to resonate with regional investors.
This flexible visual system—ranging from high-energy youth graphics to refined academic layouts—positions The Legacy Center as a visionary force for social impact, ensuring its brand remains as revolutionary and enduring as its mission to bridge the regional opportunity gap.
The Legacy Center is located within a community of thriving neighborhoods and variable social economic groups. However, the 24 municipalities that make up this community also has the highest concentration of poverty in the Missouri side of the St. Louis region due to decades of disinvestment and decline. The center’s Executive Director impressed upon us the need for a radical approach: the essence of the brand needed to be visionary and revolutionary to bring attention to the disparity of opportunity in the region.
The design, featuring bold colors and iconography, distinguishes itself from conventional, child-like brands, engaging middle school and older audiences. The project encompasses a website and visual Brand Guidelines, ensuring adaptability and easy implementation for the organization's staff. The brand needed to resonate with a demographic who often is not attracted by community space design, are statistically underrepresented, and often feel as though school is not a place for them.
At the same time, the brand needed to be flexible enough to also resonate with the Rergional Business Council and regional business leaders who continue to invest in the organization. By making the design “radical,” it is positioned for longevity--this is a brand that will grow with the audience it serves making it relational to youth of all ages as well as community members.