Black Girls Code

Non-Profit

Code like a girl.

Modernizing a brand that’s creating a better future for technology.

CHALLENGE

Black Girls Code is a non-profit organization whose mission is to increase the number of women of color in tech by the year 2040. To meet this goal, they introduce girls ages 7-17 computer programming and technology skills. A well-known organization, Black Girls Code had outgrown its original branding and was in need of an identity that reflected a more modern take on technology and expanded its target market from young, elementary-aged girls all the way up to the high-school age.

THE SOLUTION

We created a new logo and brand presence that pushed them further into the modern, digital world. The community of people coming together in the Black Girls Code organization inspired us, as did all the possibilities of the future of technology.

OUR APPROACH

We started with logo sketches that took the current logo in a variety of directions that ranged from refresh to rehaul. After we narrowed down our top three, we let students from Black Girls Code vote on their favorite. Their top pick happened to be our favorite — leading to a logo that felt like a collaboration with the students and a better representation of the organization.

Results

The new logo is stacked, representative of a community of people coming together. All of the lines in the logo are based off of the same shapes, so they can expand and contract depending on they’re being used and still always fit into their square. It represents responsive design and the flexibility of technology, pushing the design further into the digital world.

As we expanded the brand to social posts, t-shirts, business cards and more, we expanded the color palette. Before, the focus was on hot pink and black. By bringing in the bright blue, we were able to make the brand feel more digital and forward-thinking. Gradients are futuristic; representing forward movement. As a company, Black Girls Code was already moving in a more serious direction with their portraits, so we played off that direction to gear a focus towards the future: girls who will come back to be teachers, advocates, and champions of Black Girls Code.