Before
Junior Achievement of Georgia was having a breakthrough. Their innovative new educational model had stunning results in initial pilots. It was time to scale. But their brand, JA Academy, evoked trustworthy tradition, not breakthrough innovation. It was time for a significant pivot.
Significant shifts require significant certainty. I led a robust strategy process with the JA team including both internal and external in depth interviews, audience definition, and more. This validated and clarified leadership’s assumptions and garnered buy-in and support from the national brand leaders. Remarkably, this would be the first time Junior Achievement had launched a new name and brand in their 100+ year history.
We considered several name candidates before aligning on 3DE, a highly differentiated name that emphasizes the unique model with a revolutionary tone.
Through research, we discovered that keeping a light connection to the Junior Achievement brand would reinforce the trustworthiness that our new donor audience needs. 3DE’s faceted mark is built around JA’s triangle and iconic green. Yet it expands on this starting point, evoking a space of dynamic posibility.
A comprehensive brand manual articulated the brand strategy, visual identity, and verbal identity o 3DE. The visual language included a suite of patterns as well as a unique photographic treatment that allows 3DE to leverage affordable stock imagery while still expressing a unique personality.
3DE’s unique model operates within the infrastructure of public schools. So I also provided flexible logo variations that could provide a degree of brand localization. This, combined with the brand’s verbal identity, give the brand the ability to uplift schools wherever they go.
When I started the project, JA Academy had 3 pilot locations in Atlanta. At the time of writing, 3DE has launched in 50+ schools across America.
Client: Junior Achievement of Georgia
Agency: Independent (Strategy), Vigor (Design)
Strategists: Aaron Tovi, Bari Love
Creative Director: Aaron Tovi
Designers: Natalie Suarez, Aaron Tovi
