Making Complex Stories Accessible to a Broad Audience
A Blade of Grass

Challenge

Primary research surfaced two core challenges that were fundamental to the success and longevity of this mission-driven organization.

To help the ABoG successfully apply for grants and philanthropy, we needed to clarify who they are and what they do. The original rabbit brand identity did not express the mission-driven nature of their work or impact on social causes. This disconnect increased the difficulty of grant development and fundraising.

The next challenge was how to create a museum without objects. Socially engaged “artwork” could artistic activism, community-based events, creative placemaking, cultural organizing, participatory art, social practice, and social sculpture. The ABoG website needed to become a “museum” of socially engaged, non-object-based art.

Solution

Our strategy focused on four keywords – “Social, Engaged, Art, Museum” – that comprise the core principle of the ABoG mission. 

We created a simple brand signature that is a metaphor for the mission. This is the centerpiece of a design system to frame the brand with echoes of museum branding characteristics —clean, bold typography with a refined use of white space.

The website is based on the same minimalist voice—the layout, documentary visuals, light background, and mastered white space give air and freshness to content-heavy pages. This approach also ensured that all the diverse visual content, from public-generated photos to professional shots and videos will look good on the pages. A variety of elegant page templates, smooth animation, engaging scroll, video integration present the artist’s projects to a wider online audience. 

To appeal to a wider audience and improve wayfinding content, we created a robust, Filter Tool with two taxonomy classes that can segment and sort content by social “issues” and/or “ideas” that artists address in their socially engaged art.

1. Why that Name?
Primary research interviews with founders, board members, and staff showed the name’s origin was forgotten. Working with stakeholders, we defined a brand narrative that aligned the name to the foundation's mission.

A Blade of Grass is a metaphor for the socially engaged artist who sets roots directly within the communities they engage. The interlocking root system of many blades together makes our social foundation stronger and healthier.

2. What is Socially Engaged Art?
As part of our subject immersion, we discovered socially engaged art or socially engaged practice can include any art form which involves people and communities in debate, collaboration, or social interaction. This can often be organized as a part of an outreach or education program, but many independent artists also use it within their work. 

The participatory element of socially engaged practice is key, with the artworks created often holding equal or less importance to the collaborative act of creating them. As Tom Finkelpearl outlines in his book What We Made: Conversations on Art and Social Cooperation, social practice is ‘art that’s socially engaged, where the social interaction is at some level the art.’

Artists/practitioners seek recognition as agents of change

Financial supporters seek programs grounded in serious scholarship

Project participants seek commitment to social justice and systemic change 

General audiences seek accessibility and browsability

Sub Branding of Public Programs was developed with a sundown strategy where the branding moved to singular use of the Primary Brand Identity Signature.