What It Is
Active Against ALS is a Michigan-based nonprofit founded in 2008 in Ann Arbor. Their mission is to raise funds for ALS research — toward effective treatments and ultimately a cure — while building community, promoting physical activity, and increasing awareness of a disease that takes far too much, far too fast. Since founding, they’ve directed over $1.1 million toward ALS research.
The Brief
We were engaged to develop a brand identity for the organization — a visual system that could carry the weight of what they do without losing the warmth and energy that defines their community. Active Against ALS runs events, builds relationships, and rallies people around hope. The brand needed to reflect all of that: determined, human, and built to move.
ALS is a disease of the motor neurons — it takes movement from people. The organization’s answer to that is action: events like the Twinkie Run, research funding, and a community that shows up. The identity needed to embody that spirit of defiant activity.
What We Developed
We built a complete brand identity system — a mark and visual language that could work across the full range of what the organization does, from event signage and merchandise to digital communications and research grant materials.
- Primary logo and wordmark with full production-ready variant set
- Color system balancing energy and approachability with the gravity of the cause
- Typography pairing suited to both high-energy event promotion and thoughtful donor communications
- Brand guidelines covering usage, color, type, and application
- Mockups across key touchpoints: apparel, event materials, digital, and print
Outcome
The concept was completed and delivered. Like some brand engagements, the organization ultimately moved in a different direction and the identity was not adopted. The work stands on its own — purposeful design for a cause that deserves it.