OCTA Brand WorkOLD | kristenzaikvazquez

OREGON-CALIFORNIA
TRAILS ASSOCIATION

Preserving and protecting our American story.

Brand Development / Web Design / Content Planning

The Oregon-California Trails Association is a non-profit organization with the primary purpose of protecting, preserving, and promoting the nineteenth century American westward emigrant trails. Anyone who’s ever played the infamous “Oregon Trail” video game in 5th grade has a vague idea of the perils of traveling the trail (ie, “You have died of dysentery”). Truly understanding this history is to realize that being bold enough to pick up their belongings and trek westward into certain danger armed only with the hope that a better life was waiting on the other side was a real-life scenario for those brave enough to undertake the journey. OCTA works to ensure that the land and the stories of the trails stick around for us to learn from for generations to come.

OCTA was formed in 1982, and hadn’t had an image refresh since. Their mission and vision of the future was clear to the stakeholders within the organization, but the outward language and expression were not conveying the passion of their mission. They wanted to reach new audiences with membership messages, garner interest in their many regional events, and become a viable partner for contemporary green-minded and sustainable brands. Together, we undertook an extensive brand refresh that included all aspects of their internal and external identity.

Brand Development (Identity & Expression) / Web Design / Brand Storytelling + Content Planning

BRAND IDENTITY DEEP-DIVE
bringing purpose to the forefront.

SoundLife was created by professional gigging musicians in Los Angeles, to help kids discover their own creative voices and build the confidence to get on stage with their peers and rock the room. The teachers are skilled musicians who play arenas, as well as mentors to their students, and that needed to come across in their image (think "School of Rock", but a lot more personal attention and way cooler, *wink*.) They cater to an upscale clientele, many of whom are in the entertainment industry themselves, so they needed to stand out above the crowd. I worked with them to distill their core identity and purpose, creating a comprehensive Brand Book.

Core Identity

Brand Strategy

Personality and Voice

Visual Expression

Style Guide

ONLINE PRESENCE
an updated presentation.

The main website was completely redesigned using the new brand aesthetic and voice, including image styles and fresh copy. In addition to the design itself, I crafted an approach that highlighted their distinctive offerings - like in-home lessons, student jams, band coaching, live performances, and songwriting and recording. The result? A very full picture emphasizing their own unique identity.

Website (design + copy)

Social Profile Updates

BRAND STORYTELLING + CONTENT
reaching your audience.

Part of the process was to create a killer Brand Storytelling Guide for their team to refer back to, and a content marketing approach consisting of a fun and ongoing educational email series to bring students and their families further into the community. The weekly content series was supported by a robust schedule of social media collateral corresponding to the tentpole topics. Completing the picture on the marketing end was paid social creative strategy, ad production, and a fresh new landing page.

Content Planning (emails + social media)

Campaign Development (creative dev + execution)

Performance Creative (paid social)

Landing Pages