In the Spring of 2021, I took LMC 2720, Principles of Visual Design, and the final assignment for that course was to design a style and branding guide for a fictitious brand/nonprofit/organization. Many students chose to brand themselves. However, the idea of Bring Brats Home has been bouncing around in my head since I was a teenager. I am a Military Brat, and that has shaped several of my class and personal projects. Bring Brats Home, is a fictitious nonprofit organization that I have considered to serve and support Brats through all phases of life. For context, the color of the Military Brat is purple and the flower of the Military Brat is the dandelion. During this course and assignment, I used the skills that I had learned in order to create the branding and learned how intense a process it is to create media guidelines for an organization.
While this organization does not actually exist, and I have no plans to start Bring Brats Home at this time, this work helped me realize I can use my skills to help people. The long process spent creating and critiquing media for this guide was very insightful and challenging, and overall I feel better prepared to continue creating curated and cohesive media.
While this organization does not actually exist, and I have no plans to start Bring Brats Home at this time, this work helped me realize I can use my skills to help people. The long process spent creating and critiquing media for this guide was very insightful and challenging, and overall I feel better prepared to continue creating curated and cohesive media.
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While designing the logo, I knew that i wanted to bring focus to the dandelion. The symbol holds significance for many Military Brats. It is said to represent our resilience and lifestyle. They can grow almost anywhere and put down roots quickly, but do not drain nutrients from the soil. More information regarding the significance of the dandelion to Military Brats can be found here.
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An important part of the branding for this organization would be the writing tone and the featured images. So often the images of military families depict homecomings, deployments, or funerals. These events are a reality for Military Brats, but it is not the only part of life. I saw it important to make sure this was not highlighted in this organizations branding. Additionally, many civilians react negatively to the word "Brat". I have explained many times the term, and made sure to include this explanation in the guide. I created the idea of this nonprofit to serve and support people like me, and I find it imperative to explain our culture and ensure that documents are designed with the unique experiences and emotional pain points that are experienced as part of the Military Brat lifestyle.