Trailblazers is a trauma focused therapy program for children of abuse, based in Durham, North Carolina. They use horse-assisted, PATH certified methods to provide a safe and healing environment for children who have experienced significant traumatic events.
Trailblazers came to d+m prior to their launch in 2013. The project posed a unique challenge, in the need to present as qualified and professional while simultaneously appealing to children. After much research into the fields of child therapy and horse culture (and the intersection of the two), we decided to forgoe the single brandmark, and instead develop a visual system of clean and playful iconography, along with a complementary typographical foundation for an air of credibility and professionalism.
Each in the series of three icons, created using the curves of several letters from the program name, represents key emotive and defining characteristics of the Trailblazers program. The icons were developed as sketches, based on shapes from the branded name, and then digitally finished using clean yet playful vector lines.
It was important for the visual system to convey a sense of safety and trust; a rock-solid foundation upon which the children could begin their journey. Using the angles of the letter 'A', we created an icon of a mountain range to signify the unmoving, unchanging, reliable character of their program.
Key to the Trailblazers mission is progress in the lives of the children, and the visuals needed to depict a forward momentum, an uplifting hope for the future; lightweight, and free. An icon of a bird seemed the natural choice, and was created using the lower curve of the letter 'S'.
The third icon is more literal than conceptual, and represents the horse-assisted modality of the therapies offered. Developed using the upper portion of the letter 'R', we chose to use a horseshoe rather than an image of a horse, simply because in our research we found the national equine therapy market to be oversaturated with similar horse imagery.
We designed the series of icons to be as versatile as possible. They are vector objects, and thus infinitely scalable, and able to be used for applications like laser-cutting, CNC, letterpress, and embroidery, to name a few. In addition, because each graphic was designed using a letter as a template, the icons can be placed directly into the branded name, or other marketing materials, to add to the child-friendly, playful nature of the program identity.
To give a professional credibility to the Trailblazers presentation, we developed a minimal, grid-aligned system for the type and print materials. We purposefully implemented much negative space, to give an open, uncluttered, and unintimidating feel. For the correspondence materials, the graphics were left out entirely, or included very sparingly, to add to the professional end of the spectrum.
We enjoyed - as we often do - taking a non-traditional, outside-the-box approach to this uniquely challenging project. If you enjoyed what we made, or had to say, feel free to appreciate, comment, and share as much as you like.
- d+m
