Create an empowering logo for a Military spouse learning and development non profit organization

Empower

Who we are:

Empower is an organization that was founded by Military spouses for Military spouses. A recent study concluded that 90% of female Military spouses are under or unemployed! That made us furious! We believe an innovative and approach is required to solve this epidemic, and we are the right people to help do that. We understand the struggle that some Military spouses face with feelings of restlessness and confusion over their purpose, because we struggled with feelings of stagnation, lack of purpose and finding meaningful employment. Fortunately, we have both been able to build successful, portable careers that utilize our natural talents and strengths that fit into our ever-changing Military lifestyles!

Empower offers dynamic learning and development programs, specifically designed for Military spouses. We provide interactive group sessions, 1:1 coaching, online courses and retreats. We have developed the strategies, tools and foster supportive communities to help our fellow Milspos successfully navigate their unique journeys.

Our target:

US Military spouses are smart, innovative, hard working, but a little tired of always moving and starting afresh. They are proud to be Military spouses, predominately female and support their families with all of their energy, however at some point they have de-prioritized themselves. Our target age spans from 18 to 65, but they share many commonalities. They are highly positive individuals and make the best of any situation, are generally well travelled and adventurous. They are extremely savvy online, spend lots of time on social media and are interested in popular culture, but are not slaves to it.

I'd like to explore the following colors:

Reds: Energy, action, passion and love.
Dark neutrals: Formality, mystery, exclusivity and luxury.
Let designers make suggestions:

We have examined our category and the common codes are black and white, bold and simple, with a bold icon (see our mood board for examples). Our logo should be primarily black and white to follow our category cues and also communicate professionalism and timeless sophistication. We would like to explore the diamond as our icon, as it represents clarity and our goal is for Military spouses to sparkle as brightly as diamonds.

We are also open to hands as an alternative icon, as empowerment is generally communicated through hands by other organizations. We also wish to experiment with a splash of red in the logo as an accent color, as this helps further communicate our passion for what we do.

We will reject any kitsch or camouflage designs. We also do not want any red diamonds as these have been used to communicate “blood diamonds” in communications.

Our logo and branding should reflect our distinctivity. We desire a modern, chic, almost hipster feel for our education. When visiting our website, want our customers to feel a warm, welcoming environment that is stylish and custom-designed for them – the logo sets the scene for this.

The design must be versatile to work across all mediums (online, social, print etc). It should also be reversible to work on black/white backgrounds. We would also require a recommendation on the complimentary font to be used in communications to ensure consistency with the logo.