Healing Justice Santa Barbara
How do you design for a community whose trust you haven't earned yet?
Brand Identity
Integrated Marketing
Cross-Functional Teams
Role
1 of 2 Visual Designers
Team
Project Manager
Strategy Consultant
2 Visual Designers
2 Content Writers
Timeline
August - September 2025
Tools
Canva
Figma
About the Company
Healing Justice SB is a nonprofit building resilient, supported communities for the African diaspora and other marginalized groups along California's Central Coast. They came to us with a specific goal: reach Black youth through their Black Student Alliance program and connect them with college-level mentorship through BSU chapters at local universities.
The Problem
The organization had a clear mission and real commitment, but their marketing wasn't reaching their target audience. They needed both a strategic plan and tangible deliverables to bring the BSA-to-BSU mentorship to life, without compromising the integrity of their existing visual identity in the process.
What I did, and Why
Before touching anything, we did a thorough analysis of HJSB's existing digital presence: their website, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and event photography from news coverage. What we found was intentional and considered: a warm, muted palette of browns, tans, beiges, and soft rose tones. A clean landing page anchored by direct, impactful language, opening with "We unapologetically center Black people in our work." Typography that used scale and color accent to elevate key pillars. A logo whose two slightly different neutral shades of the H and J quietly nodded to the diversity within the community. Inclusive photography, image ID descriptions, and a voice that was direct, accessible, and never watered down.
The goal was to protect HJSB's identity. When organizations bring in outside designers, there's a risk of things being smoothed out and made more "palatable." That wasn't an option here. Every deliverable I created, from the mentorship program slides to the recruitment flyer, was grounded in what they had already built.
Impact & Takeaways
70%
event attendance
projected by 39-page IMC plan
20%
social media engagement growth projected by IMC plan
Delivered full 39-page Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) plan and 10 minute pitch presentation to client
Created 7 visual design and marketing strategy branded deliverables ready for immediate deployment across the BSA-BSU mentorship program
At our final presentation, the client confirmed that our designs accurately reflected their identity and what they were trying to communicate
This was my first fully cross-functional marketing-design team, and it changed how I think about design as a discipline. While designing alongside strategists, researchers, and content writers, I noticed that decisions aren't made in isolation, but instead informed by context, data, and input collected by the entire team. I came away hungry for more of that kind of collaboration…