The Promise

We Promise

Services
  • Brand Strategy
  • Brand Identity
  • Brand Activation
  • Campaign
  • Website
Industry
  • Social Impact

Philly’s about to see it’s greatest comeback yet.

Philadelphia is the poorest large city in the country. More than 350,000 of our neighbors live on less than $26,000 per year as a family of four. Many are individuals living on less than $13,000 per year. This seemingly insurmountable statistic weighed heavy on the minds of public officials and even heavier on the shoulders of our communities. To even begin to shift the needle, we needed a citywide movement to broaden our understanding of poverty and hyper-focus our efforts on short term achievements proven to have a long term impact. Led by the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey and a partnership with city government and community leaders, a plan was proposed and a commitment made – to help 100,000 people rise above the poverty line by 2025.

A Foundation for Good

We had the honor of participating in the early development, research, and strategy behind this incredible initiative. We also lead socializing it amongst our city’s leaders and constituents to set ourselves up for success and set realistic expectations for progress. To inspire action, we created a brand and campaign that provoked curiosity and instilled hope while inciting an immediate call to the entire city.

posters with infographics and photography designed as part of brand strategy project by J2 for the Promise, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping reduce poverty rates

Unacceptable Truths

Capturing the attention of 4,000,000 people in a city like Philadelphia doesn’t come easy. To do so, we focused on the facts and punctuated them with reinterpreted statements ripped from our nation’s founding documents and economic textbooks alike. Gripping and powerful, bold and hopeful, we challenged Philadelphia to understand poverty as a problem we all need to solve. Now.

full bleed city photography and modern sans serif typography, print marketing booklet for The Promise brand campaign by J2
Posters with solid background colors and varied fonts, brand identity and graphic design by J2 for The Promise
bold type on yellow poster, The Promise brand campaign by J2
Billboard on a brick building, The Promise branding and graphic design by J2
sample social media posts for The Promise brand campaign by J2

Website with a Cause

The web experience was built for those doing the helping and those who needed help. You can easily get the top line facts and figures of the problem and the solution. Then, when you’re ready, you can dig in much deeper. It’s all in an effort to empower and inspire taking action. The site also served as a place for those in need, with easy access to resources and services they could take advantage of in their positive progress forward.

billboard with white and yellow typography on a black background, branding and graphic design by J2 for The Promise
Construction posters with infographics and city street photography, graphic design and brand ID by J2

Paying it Forward

Many partners and organizations also set out to create work for The Promise. To make sure we were always speaking the same language, we created a detailed brand guideline to serve as our unifying call to action. It clearly outlined the origins and intentions of the cause and how to successfully execute it to achieve the desired impact. To lift the city of Philadelphia out of poverty.

Designed branding guidelines for The Promise by J2
illustration of two happy designers opening modern door to a brick office building

Ready to
get to work?