Friday, April 26, 2024

Just A Start, a Cambridge nonprofit, announced an update Wednesday to its brand – a new website, logo and tagline: “Building homes, careers and futures.”

Founded in 1968, Just A Start began as a neighborhood revitalization and youth training program in Cambridge. The organization’s services have since expanded to include affordable housing, workforce development and economic opportunity programs.

“Our renewed emphasis on building homes, careers and futures better conveys the range of expertise and support that we offer,” said Carl Nagy-Koechlin, executive director of the organization. “We want individuals and families to know that we’re a comprehensive resource for help achieving their housing, career and financial goals. We are ‘just a start’ for our participants in that we’re their partner as they pursue their unique paths to greater housing stability and economic mobility.”

Just A Start revised its vision and mission statements to prioritize equity issues, then brought in Artists For Humanity, a design studio in Boston that hires under-resourced teens to work alongside mentors in art and design.

The teen designers worked to create a brand identity expressing Just A Start’s wide variety of services, with individual shapes combining to suggest a comprehensive and cohesive network. “I liked how this project didn’t call for a literal logo,” said Jessica N., who was on the graphic design team for the project. “It helped me think outside the box instead of being so literal. The abstract logo was very fun to create and explore.”