Sharing stories of strength

with JHU’s Center for American Indian Health

What we did

  • Branding
  • Website Design
  • Development
  • Print Design
  • Illustration
  • Video
  • Motion Graphics
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Media
  • Branding
  • Website Design
  • Development
  • Print Design
  • Illustration
  • Video
  • Motion Graphics
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Media
VISIT THEIR WEBSITE

What they needed

The Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health supports public health interventions designed for and by Native peoples. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, they approached us to help share stories about the leadership and resilience of many Indigenous communities, including American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian.

The Johns Hopkins University Indigenous stories of strength logo. The logo features a line illustration of a lake with a small fire on the top left of the lake, and reads "Indigenous Stories of Strength" in deep blue, illuminated red in the bottom left corner by the fire near the lake.

About the Logo

In many traditions, fire and water are sacred, powerful gifts that are kept by both men and women equally. This symbol echoes this sentiment, showing that strength depends on all genders equally. The rising smoke forms the letters of their name: Indigenous Stories of Strength (ISS). The smoke also symbolizes the connection to and spiritual strength drawn from the Creator. A bold uppercase font pops their acronym and speaks to themes of resiliency and strength.

An iPhone mockup of the JHU Indigenous stories of strength contact us page. The page features a box for a name, email, and message with a submit button.
An iPhone mockup of the JHU Indigenous stories of strength website. The site features information about the virtual showcase including time, date, and the link for the zoom webinar.
A macbook mockup of the JHU Indigenous stories of strength website. The site features a short blurb about the goal of the program, and below that is a call for nominations section.
An icon inside a purple to red gradient flame. The icon is of a checklist with the first two items checked off, and the third item waiting to be completed.

How we helped

We worked with JHU to create a brand, website, and videos to spotlight Indigenous stories and innovations. Their website is fully accessible, with a virtual showcase of the many ways Indigenous people are supporting each other through challenging times. Their work was so well received that JHU kept going, asking us to create animated videos and guides for other Indigenous audiences, including COVID-19 frontline workers and students.

An iPad mockup of the Johns Hopkins University Indigenous stories of strength website. The site features the call for nominations page, and details the Indigenous stories of strength virtual showcase.
An icon in a purple heart. The icon features two indigenous people holding hands. Each person is wearing several colourful bracelets.

Taking care of the caretakers

Those who take care of patients need to take care of themselves first. That’s why we helped create a series of mental health guides and training videos tailored for COVID-19 frontline workers in American Indian and Alaskan Native communities. Inspired by an abalone shell, the colours and patterns symbolize our connection with others and with the land. 

The cover of the Johns Hopkins University Psychological First Aid booklet. The cover features an image of someone in a mask and face shield as well as wavy lines that look like water, with a purple to blue gradient overlay. The subtitle reads "For COVID-19 frontline workers in American Indian/Alaska Native Communities.
An internal spread of the Johns Hopkins University psychological first aid booklet. The spread features an introduction and contents section, detailing the modules within the booklet.
An internal spread of the Johns Hopkins University psychological first aid section of a booklet. The left spread features several places to input information for medical services, police, fire, womens' services, and more. The right spread features a "Helping other to help themselves" section, detailing what someone can do if another person is in need of support.
An icon in a deep purple circle. The icon features several peoples' hands, coming together in the centre on top of one another, as though they're doing a team huddle and supporting each other.
An icon of an elderly indigenous person and their caregiver. Each person is wearing a mask, and there is a sheild with a heart inside of it between them to denote the importance of supporting elders and their caregivers.
An icon of two cellphones. On each cellphone, there is two people, as though each person is holding their phone and talking to the other. Each person is smiling widely, engaged in pleasant conversation.
An icon in a purple circle. The icon features an Indigenous family consisting of two adults and one child. The child is in the centre, and the adults are holding the childs hands. Each member of the family is wearing a mask.
An icon of an Indigenous person experiencing a headache. This is signified by the person leaning on their hand, with three lightning symbols coming from their right side to denote pain.

Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health – Psychological First Aid Case Study Videos

The JHU Safe Schools logo. The logo features Safe Schools - Keeping Schools safe from COVID-19 as the title, and the logo mark itself is a red backpack that reads "Safe Schools" with a portrait of a person of colour wearing a mask with feathers on it in the front pocket.The JHU Safe Schools logo. The logo features Safe Schools - Keeping Schools safe from COVID-19 as the title, and the logo mark itself is a red backpack that reads "Safe Schools" with a portrait of a person of colour wearing a mask with feathers on it in the front pocket.

Keeping schools safe

To support Native American schools, JHU produced a COVID-19 safety toolkit. We created a fun and engaging layout packed with icons and infographics, including one that shows how to use self-testing kits.

The cover for the Johns Hopkins University Center for American Indian Health's Project SafeSchools booklet. The subtitle reads "COVID-19 School Testing Toolkit" and features an image of several people running on sand.
An internal spread of the Johns Hopkins University Project Safe Schools booklet. The spread features an introduction to the booklet.
A cover and internal spread of the Johns Hopkins University Project Safe Schools booklet. The cover is obscured by the internal spread and reads "Project Safe Schools" and the internal spread features a left page about Reporting Testing results, and a right page about what to do if you recieve a positive test result.
An icon of a positive COVID-19 test.
An icon in a red circle of a person of colour self administering a COVID-19 nasal swab test for themselves. They are just about to insert the swab, and they are smiling.
An icon in a blue circle of a person having a COVID-19 test administered for them. The person giving the test is wearing a blue glove and gown.
An icon in a yellow circle featuring a person of colour administering themselves a COVID-19 nasal swab test. To the left of the person is someone wearing a glove and gown, holding the test tube in which the person will place their swab.
An icon featuring a school dashboard that lists the class, date, whether there is COVID-19 cases, and if said class is in quarantine.
An internal spread of the Johns Hopkins University Safe Schools booklet. The spread features a detailed explanation on how to administer a COVID-19 test to onesself, with an informational blurb on the right page.

View more projects

  • An image on a pink and blue background meeting in the middle. On the pink side is the Design de Plume logo, and on the right is the Syntax logo, which is a word mark with a blue chat bubble around the company name.

    Design de Plume and Syntax form strategic partnership

  • A banner for the Canadian Federation of Students featuring a poster on a wall. The poster reads "Tuition fees have tripled since the 1990s" with further information on the inflation of tuition and student debt. The image on the poster is of an upside down graduation cap with money inside of it. Ce graphique présente le logo de la Fédération canadienne des étudiantes et étudiants, qui est une lettre indiquant cfs sur un fond blanc en texte bleu, et fcéé à côté en texte blanc. Le logo est présenté sur un dégradé de vert à bleu avec un motif de fond géométrique.

    Canadian Federation of Students

    Fewer than 40% of students across Canada were voting. We helped spark a movement to change that.

  • A banner for SOCAN TD Incubator for Creative Entrepreneurship. The image features a person in a recording studio holding a microphone. The person is wearing an Incubator sweater that features the logo in white in the centre. The sweater itself is a pink to orange gradient. On the right side of the image there are several curvy shapes in orange, purple, and red overlayed on the image. A banner for the SOCAN Foundation. The background is a person performing on stage taken from in the crowd, and there are peoples hands up in the air surrounded by blue triangles spreading towards the stage. The SOCAN Foundation logo is a word mark that reads Fondation SOCAN Foundation so it can be read in both French and English. The C in SOCAN is light blue.

    SOCAN Foundation

    To encourage emerging musicians, we remixed print, web, and event designs.

VIEW OUR WORK