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Founded in 2015, Cadasta Foundation develops and promotes using simple digital tools and technology to help partners efficiently document, analyze, store, and share critical land and resource rights information. By creating an accessible digital record of land, housing, and resource rights, Cadasta “helps empower individuals, organizations, communities, and governments with the information they need to make data-driven decisions and put vulnerable communities and their needs on the map.”
Cadasta needed a brand that would create an impact in the international land rights space. They had a trademarked logo, but its color scheme was bland and lifeless. Cadasta, uniquely positioned as a nonprofit tech startup, needed branding that portrayed the feeling of a knowledgeable and caring team and that of a tech-forward organization.
I researched other land rights organizations. What were the commonalities between the organizations? What did they do well? What could be improved? What was their branding telling me about these organizations, and was it working well?
In examining international development organizations, I saw that whether or not they were heavily involved in tech, they highlighted that the people's needs were at the heart of their work. I need to take all of this information and make Cadasta stand out from the crowd.
I gave the team three different options They wanted a brand that was lively and vibrant. It felt hopeful.
Colors
The primary colors of the brand are green, blue, and yellow. Green is a stable, often calming color that can bring ideas of spring with its new beginnings and growth. Blue is considered a color of dependability. This shade of blue also feels refreshing and approachable. Yellow is an energetic color. I can signify creativity and forward momentum. Pairing it with the more stable colors of green and blue presents the organization as dependable, hard-working, and focused on growth. The things that an organization focused on bringing stability and growth to marginalized communities would do well to highlight.
Typography
The typography was kept simple because Cadsta branding is used not only in marketing materials but also on the Cadasta platform. The platform was an application that was installed on multiple handheld devices, both old and new. People using old tablets on an isolated island in the middle of the Indian Ocean needed functional and legible typography that maintained Cadasta branding.
Photography
Strong branding also includes appropriately styled photos. Brightly colored, clear photos helped highlight the message that the content writers wanted to deliver. Priority was given to diverse populations of people in homes that were not in a typically Western or European style.
In Closing
The Cadasta brand made a splash in the land rights community. At conferences worldwide, it was easily recognizable and presented as a stable and robust organization despite its small size.