We helped Colorado Health Foundation shift the narrative from conventional healthcare to health justice—translating a bold new mission into language and visuals that bring everyone to the table.
For over 20 years, Colorado Health Foundation focused on improving the health of Coloradans through traditional healthcare. But with new leadership came a deeper conviction: that to truly improve health, you have to address its root causes. The problem? The language of “health equity” felt like jargon to many funders and stakeholders—and the foundation’s visual identity felt too institutional to match the warmth and accessibility of their new direction. They knew where they wanted to go. They needed help bringing others along.
We recognized that the Foundation’s real challenge wasn’t explaining a strategy shift; it was earning trust for a new kind of conversation. That meant moving away from language that was prescriptive or paternalistic, and toward messaging that felt honest, direct, and genuinely inclusive. The new narrative reframed the Foundation’s work not as “fixing health outcomes” but as bringing health within reach for all Coloradans, a distinction that opened doors rather than closing them.
We partnered with the Foundation to develop a complete suite of messaging and a refreshed visual identity that could carry this new direction. The strategic language we crafted was simple without being reductive—articulating both the how and the why of the Foundation’s work in ways that resonated with diverse stakeholders. Visually, a new pattern and prism system became the centerpiece of the brand: a symbol of how the Foundation illuminates multiple issues, embraces varied perspectives, and welcomes everyone into the conversation. Overlapping colors spoke to collaboration; editorial photography techniques—spotlight treatments and layered pattern—brought individual humanity to the forefront of every piece.
The result was a brand and messaging system that matched the ambition of the Foundation’s mission: clear, approachable, and built for the long haul. Iconography, data visualization, and a cohesive design language gave the Foundation the tools to communicate its values transparently and compellingly across audiences. As one Foundation leader put it: “You went above and beyond”—and the early traction confirmed it. Colorado Health Foundation emerged from this partnership with the language, look, and confidence to bring health justice into reach—and bring their stakeholders along with them.
