Camp Fihavanana
Brand iDentity / Voice / web design
In 2015, I co-founded Camp Fihavanana: a leadership-skill-building summer camp for high school students in Madagascar. In our two weeks together at Camp Fi, we play sports, make art, and explore and discuss life lessons that aren’t typically taught in schools. It’s our goal to build up the next generation of leaders in Madagascar. To date, we’ve worked with hundreds of students and dozens of international staff members.
I have touched almost every part of this program, but my favorite efforts include creating a visual identity and a brand voice for the organization. As the current Marketing Director, I act as creative director and team lead in the areas of branding, social media, video and photo production, merchandise, and fundraising.
My role:
Creative and art direction, identity design, website design, illustration, photography, videography, animation
Year:
2019
Project type:
Nonprofit
Team:
Creative Director: Sophie Connot
Designer: Sophie Connot
Photography: Sophie Connot, Jo Yu, Caren Ramanantoanina, Sedra Harinandriana, Miantso Soloharison
Videography: Sophie Connot, Jo Yu
Building up young, courageous leaders in Madagascar.
After nailing down our programming and getting by without an identity for several years, I led the efforts in creating a new, easily-recognizable logo and color scheme that shows what we do at Camp Fi: we literally and figuratively climb mountains. The mountain logo mark represents the 12+ mile climb all campers and staff take at the midpoint of Camp Fi. This climb is a turning point in the Camp Fi experience, and the most tangible demonstration of teamwork occurs when campers help each other get through it. Everything feels different once we return back from the hike, and then the real development begins. Camp Fi’s new logo shares the tiniest taste of that experience.
In addition to designing a look and feel through this process, we are constantly designing experiences through Camp Fi. Design thinking is part of almost every decision we make and project we start. “Camp magic” occurs when people let their guards down to be silly, vulnerable, collaborative, and completely themselves. Encouraging design thinking through prototyping, taking risks, and providing feedback to one another has helped us grow in both numbers and strengths every year.
Website
Camp Fihavanana has several different audiences: students, past and potential staff members, volunteers, donors, and supporters — We needed a hub to hold information for all of them. Over a 2-year-long process, my co-founders and I dissected every part of our process and programming. I took all of that work and created a new website that tells our story, breaks down our process, and invites others to get involved. We’re able to articulate our activities through both written content and photos and video. We are currently working on translating every webpage to Malagasy to expand our reach in Madagascar even further.
Photo + Video
Photos and videos are powerful storytelling devices, and we use them heavily and intentionally to help share our mission and the stories of the kids we work with. To keep our efforts consistent, I have created processes to capture Camp Fi’s essence through visuals, shooting bright and vibrant colors, intense sports practice, and overall, joy. Each year, I train and lead a team of photographers, videographers, and social media content creators in creating and capturing moments that reflect those goals.
