Creating a Brighter Tomorrow: Our New Identity
Hello World!
We’re so excited to unveil our new identity: Violet Studios. This post serves as an introduction & FAQ about our new brand, mission, and what’s to come.
Who we are
We are a professional visual design team dedicated to helping animal advocates present themselves the way they want to be seen. By leveraging design's potential, we:
Empower organizations with the ability to communicate their messages accurately and effectively
Provide them with tools needed to build trust and shape perception
Equip the teams with resources to uphold their brand identity
We believe in the power of design to enable advocates to meet their unique mission goals. We support organizations, advocates, and funders impacting animals around the globe.
Why we exist
Visual design is a service that can have a critical impact for advocates working on social and/or institutional change, but is seen as a “luxury” expense that isn’t accessible to everyone. Our purpose is to uplift and amplify the messaging of the expanding animal protection movement through free, authentic, and professional design services.
Where we came from
We are the graphic design team originally from Vegan Hacktivists, a nonprofit providing free tech services to the animal protection movement. As VH has grown rapidly over the last few years, we noticed several areas in need of capacity building work, with design being at the forefront. We started to offer design services not only associated with technology services, but on their own, recognizing that design has its own value.
Once word got out, the volume of design work at VH exploded in demand! With every finished design, we got more and more requests for design via word of mouth. We kept learning over and over how much this service was desperately needed by so many organizations and activists. We also saw repeatedly, with every new brand, the huge impact that design can have for these groups.
In the last year alone, we have assisted about 50+ organizations and individual activists, saving hundreds of thousands for the movement (estimating how much it would have cost to pay for the same amount of work from an equally experienced agency). We’ve supported organizations like Animal Charity Evaluators, Sentient Media, ADP, Fundación Veg, Sharpen Strategy, Plant Based Data, and many more with free branding and design services. This was with just a stretched staff of one full-time Creative Director and a team of experienced volunteer designers. If this was what we could do as a “side” service attached to VH, we started to dream about how much more we could manage with more focus, support, and prioritization.
We also ran into some branding challenges with being “under” a tech-focused brand. Most visitors exposed to VH for the first time often didn’t realize (understandably) that VH offers professional design, or thought that the quality of those services was secondary to tech. There was a branding mis-match – which, as a group dedicated to branding, was a major faux pas. It’s time to start walking our talk.
What’s next
With this new org, leadership will run design “at the top” which means decision making and strategy will be design-centric rather than being filtered through the tech-first lens. We aim to create a stronger design community within the animal protection movement and a distinct organizational design culture.
In addition to providing design services, we will be providing design guidance to address the gap we’ve noticed in the movement. The importance and value of design are largely underrated in our (and many) movements – having this dedicated studio will allow us the opportunity to educate and share resources regarding design’s potential impact. Stay tuned and be sure to follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn for future posts related to educational design resources relevant to animal advocacy.
The Violet Studios name
Our brand is inspired by the idea that flowering plants use vibrant visuals, like ultraviolet light patterns, to attract pollinators. Design isn’t only about beauty – it's also about strategic communication, about helping people see you.
At the core of what we do is shining light on the hidden, making the invisible, visible. We're all about showcasing you — the unsung heroes, the amazing organizations and activists doing incredible work. We take concepts that are hard to put into words and turn them into visuals that speak volumes. We want everyone to open their eyes to the suffering of animals, something that is right under our noses but often goes unnoticed or unconsidered by so many.
To learn more about our team and our values, please visit our About page.
If you’re representing an organization working on creating change for animals, and are in need of design support, feel free to reach out to chat about how we can work together!