The Happy Givers
Systems Design, Brand Strategy, Social Design, Ethnographic Research
Project Overview
During the summer of 2021, I had the privilege of working with The Happy Givers - a nonprofit with an online retail presence. 100% of the store’s profits support their children’s home in Peru, rebuilding projects in Puerto Rico (including a social kitchen and trade school) and the empowerment of migrants in Mexico. Because of their multifaceted structure, I took a systems design approach to uncovering need areas and proposing solutions that were grounded in ethnographic research.
ROLE & CONTRIBUTIONS
As the Brand Strategist and resident creative, I dove head first into Brand Discovery, which influenced my work with UX, social media, branding, and designing a brick and mortar store front. It was critical that the team and subject matter experts were included in the participatory research so that their needs, wants and story could be magnified.
The goal of discovery was to illuminate the why behind the brand; by shining a light on the core values and motivations of the brand and its users, I could ensure that my work would speak deeply to both.
I conducted one-on-one interviews with key team members to understand the founding story, the heartbeat of the brand, its audience, and what it hoped to be in the world.
The time was not only educational, but also deeply inspiring. Every aspect of the immersion was imbued with a genuine passion, kindness, intellect and a rare joyfulness. Everything from the retelling of the origin story, to understanding the motivations of the team members, to the local and global impact of the organization serve as evidence of the brand’s compelling depth and purpose.
KEY QUESTIONS
The Happy Givers’ products have a global appeal, but their branding lacked a unifying story, guidelines and visual identity. I used category-market research, provocative questions and genuine, personal curiosity to better understand the brand and its position.
What makes The Happy Givers unique?
What made you want to work here?
Tell me about the moment of spark that started The Happy Givers.
What is the biggest challenge to The Happy Givers?
What is the mission of The Happy Givers?
What does the online & global community think of The Happy Givers?
What are some threats within the category?
At the end of the day, what does success look like?
KEY INSIGHTS
I turned the stories and insights into their brand pillars, mission, vision, and a brand story that they could strategically use across their platforms to share with their global audience. My insights fueled strategies for a local store front, their website, social media, branding and wayfinding.
STORE FRONT
In the last half of 2020,The Happy Givers moved their printing production to their Puerto Rican campus. They had two goals: to improve quality and to provide meaningful work to local employees. The team also envisioned a brick and mortar retail store to help connect local patrons to the global brand and to the relief efforts and needs in their own communities. By the end of summer 2021, the retail store was designed, built, and opened for local walk-in customers.
The Happy Givers Branding
The Happy Givers features merchandise with artwork and text, but nothing had a logo representing The Happy Givers brand. I wanted the research insights about the brand to be evident in the logos. The brand is full of life, generosity and joy, and Puerto Rican locals expect to be welcomed with open arms and a warm smile when they visit the campus. The branding needed to be relevant in Spanish and English, and be flexible for application on a variety of mediums and products. Additionally, a cohesive brand family was needed to support the various nonprofits arms that have grown under The Happy Givers umbrella.
WEBSITE CONTENT
I recognized that their audience wanted to see behind the scenes and understand the social impact of their purchases. We developed 5 pillars for social media to reach these goals: founder’s quotes, donations, behind-the-scenes, community stories, and product.
SOCIAL MEDIA CONTENT
I also found that the audience and team wanted to see more diverse models that better reflected their customer base and realistic standards. These changes can be seen in their recent content. Lastly, I recommended integrating the new branding, brand story, and founding story to the website and make donations and the impact a central focus. I conducted a UX audit and provided recommendations to help provide a more efficient customer experience that would highlight these messages and create a seamless experience.
WAYFINDING
In the last half of 2020,The Happy Givers moved their printing production to their Puerto Rican campus. They had two goals: to improve quality and to provide meaningful work to local employees. The team also envisioned a brick and mortar retail store to help connect local patrons to the global brand and to the relief efforts and needs in their own communities. By the end of summer 2021, the retail store was designed, built, and opened for local walk-in customers.