The Problem: The existing NAO brand was very limited–just white, gray, black and yellow–and the team did not feel it fit with who they are, the work they do, and the community they serve. The NAO team is also incredibly small, and because the nature of their work does not lend itself to having photography they also knew they’d need to rely on stock as a primary source of visuals for the new website and any other branded materials.

The Solution: Drawing color inspiration from Oregon's diverse landscapes—deep forest greens, coastal blues, and desert yellows and ambers—the brand evolved with bold gradient combinations using spot gradients rather than linear ones, symbolizing distinct communities interacting in unified spaces that reflect NAO's community engagement work. These vibrant colors are balanced with soft neutrals, and all combinations were designed to meet WCAG AA accessibility standards with thorough documentation to help NAO's small team easily produce accessible assets. To complement the rich palette, their typography system incorporated two fonts that balance playful and serious tones, reflecting both NAO's industry-leading expertise and their warm, inviting personality. Mala–a quirky serif that reads well big and bold for headlines, and Campaign–a robust, highly legible sans serif family that has a little bit of a quirk to the character shapes. Together they’re a fun pair with great contrast and complementary character shapes, producing a strong type system.