An uncommon idea
Uncommon had a bold idea to reinvigorate charity in the world by building a platform that connects you to causes you care about and facilitates giving of time, talent and treasure.
The challenge was clear: how do we get people to care more about giving and generosity?
We first started to understand who our movement makers would be – those who love helping others because it feels good to make a positive impact. We used our understanding of our target’s habits, the goals they want to achieve and the things getting in their way to help guide our brand-building process. In conjunction with understanding the clear business goals (high velocity at launch and building a cultural movement), we built a brand we felt would change the way people think and take action on giving. Uncommon’s visual and verbal identity were equally provocative. We grounded ourselves in the brand’s personality traits of fresh, radiant and revolutionary. Because of this, we were able to provide an expression that offered a unique take on language, photography and illustrations, a bright, bold color palette and a radical logo that differentiated them from anyone else in their industry.
With the organization’s singular purpose – to do good in uncommon ways – Uncommon is making waves in the industry and making an impact on lives of those in need.
Brand Essence
Mantra
Attributes
Fresh Radiant Revolutionary
Verbal
To stand out from other giving organizations—which tend to lean heavily on emotional appeals and abstract references to “hope”—we set out to create a voice for Uncommon that was as unique as their approach. A voice that would show, rather than tell, what kind of organization they are: fresh, radiant, revolutionary.
To make sure anyone writing for the brand can channel the Uncommon voice, we created a complete verbal toolkit: a voice role, guiding principles, and granular writing tactics.
The resulting voice is that of a heartfelt storyteller, unafraid to challenge assumptions and change the way the world thinks about giving.
“We’re creating a family of services to help you and generosity flourish.”
“You have more to give than you think.”
The logo
Uncommon’s logo is handwritten and personal, with upward
momentum and a bold confidence—representing the cultural
movement they are driving.
The Brand Architecture
A master brand with distinct offerings that expands its presence in the charitable giving space
A platform to help nonprofits expand their reach and help you discover new ways to make a difference—whether through a donation or a contribution of time and talents. Uncommon Giving will you with trusted organizations, and share the impact of your contribution, so you can give confidently.
Designed to work hand-in-hand with Uncommon Giving, our proposed payments platform would allow givers to seamlessly transfer funds from their digital wallet to their chosen organizations. Additionally, givers and nonprofits alike could choose to grow their money—and increase their charitable impact. An Uncommon Giving Wallet makes it easy to fund, organize and track charitable giving.
A donor-advised fund for everyone. Traditionally, donor-advised funds—tax-smart investment accounts designated for charitable donations—have been for the wealthy. Not Ours. Uncommon Investments will be for anyone who wants to maximize their impact on the world.
Your investment portfolio is more than a financial scorecard. It reflects who you are and what matters to you most. Proposed options from Uncommon Investments will be designed to help investors make an impact while pursuing competitive returns. Impact investing means you can invest your way, empowering the causes most important to you. We like to think of it as investing for a more generous world.
The visual expression fully embodies the fresh, radiant and revolutionary traits through, an identity system that offers a unique take on photography and illustrations, a bright, bold color palette and a radical logo that differentiates Uncommon from other financial services entities.
