What’s in a brand - why does it matter? AKA Re-envisions Purpose and Visual Message
At AKA, we have re-envisioned our brand (logo, colors, style guide, and message). We are the same great people, but we look different online and in the world. Our website has been completely reimagined. Our logo is new. Our website looks and feels different. We wanted to center our work and the message we share. Here is the journey we took to rebrand and revise our message to the world. What the outside world sees and learns about AKA without actually knowing us or working alongside us.
Finding our why. People couldn't find things; the resources and research were messy. People would say, “I’ve looked at your website, but what do you do?” Sometimes I would be on my phone looking for a blog post or research paper on the old AKA website, and I couldn't find it. This signaled a need for change.
Gather the people and the funds. We have talented designers at AKA, but we took a risk and hired a local woman-owned business recommended by Wix; they were talented but didn’t get our vibe and work. We spent months with them, asking for revisions, sharing ideas, and hoping for a better outcome. The better outcome never came. We paused; then graciously told the Wix designer we couldn't use what they created. They agreed, and we departed on good terms. Later, we were left with a partially developed website, a logo we didn't use, and some wisdom.
Regroup. We decided to rebrand and reimagine our website because our core message is to share resources and work that help communities heal. We needed a new team of talent, people who know AKA, what we do, and what we love. Desiree Acosta, Linda Donahue, Tiffany Wolfe, Kaine Bishop, Jordan Suddeth, Emily Beamon, and Macrina Singleton gathered to share ideas and review concepts about message and meaning. Jordan Suddeth, our amazing social media and communications lead at AKA, coordinated the redesign and regroup. Desiree Acosta helped move the new website forward, including the colors and Indigenous concepts that represent themes of community, connection, reciprocity, and healing. Kaine Bishop, our IT guru, and Jordan Suddeth helped update SEO, security, and searchability.
Mapping the Structure of AKA’s New Website. Website maps are essential for understanding where content goes and how viewers engage with the content. AKA’s re-envisioned website map looked like this
Designing New AKA Brand and Website. Tiffany Wolfe created a new logo and brand collateral that we could use. The new logo represents AKA, and the line-art illustrations and colors reflect our love for the Earth, community, art, the environment, and healing. Tiffany Wolfe’s art became the cornerstone of our message.
In July 2026, we were still nowhere near a finished website, and I was starting to have doubts. I didn't know if we could build the website we imagined: a simple declaration of our work, and easy-to-find resources and research the world could use. We decided to have one designer, Linda Donahue, lead the final design of the new AKA website you see today. Elements reflect Linda’s deep knowledge and respect for AKA’s work and the communities we serve.
This is the new AKA Color Palette:
Revise and reimagine. At one point in the creative process, at 2:30 a.m. on a Wednesday morning, I wanted to burn it all. Everything on the website, all of the emails, invoices, questions, problems. Trash everything and just have a drawing with some watercolor images, place it on a free website platform, and call it done. Go for a walk in the woods and forget about technology, brands, websites, and words. But I decided against burning it, so I found a white sheet of paper and some watercolors. I looked at the new AKA Support Services document and got the feeling again that we were missing something big in our visual message.
Embrace the Both/And. We know from our spiritual teachers that two things can exist at the same time, and we are cautioned not to look at things dualistically as good or bad, right or wrong. In the first support services document generated with Adobe InDesign, Designer Linda Donahue linked examples, existing text, and words to share the core of what AKA does with the world. This document is a PDF file that can be updated, downloaded, printed, and changed at the drop of a hat. On the other hand, the watercolor with barely legible writing is a different kind of document. It tells the reader that a human created it and wanted to convey a different message. Here, the core of what AKA does is captured with the following words and illustrations.
Retreats, Workshops, and Training- Gathering people, creating connections of heart, mind, and presence through art, activities, workshops, and retreats. The people represent those at the front that we see on our team and on the website, those we work with in communities, and those who are not born yet, but coming to us. We belong to one another.
Research and Evaluation- Reflecting on programs and people. Finding what works, leaving what doesn’t. The sun reminds us that we grow from the light that we give. The sun rises every morning in the east. I see it coming; the sky turns color; the birds start to sing to me. I know that it will rise, even on the darkest days. This is what research and evaluation represent in our work. We will always lean on research and evaluation because it’s the core of what we do and how we use our gifts in the world. We grow from the knowledge that we cultivate and share; it’s not always beautiful, but it is always necessary.
Communicating What Matters- Writing and sharing the journey in blogs, books, reports, poems, publications, presentations, and practice. It’s how we live in the world. The lines represent endless words we write in our reports and presentations. We know words will never adequately do justice to what we learn and share.
Leaving a Legacy- In people, places, and practices. We will be known by the tracks we leave. The illustration of the people walking represents the tracks we leave. Our section called “Footprints” includes these tracks and represents our blog, books, research, and presence in the world. We want to be remembered by the work we are doing. We want to leave a roadmap, similar to our website map shared earlier in this blog, for others to learn from. We want them to know what we know and then build on this for a healthier community.
Which document do you prefer, the computer-generated PDF file or the watercolor and cursive writing file? Do you get a different heart message from one over the other? They say the same thing, but in a very different way. We can have both/and in our frameworks and approach. Here we hold two apparent opposites together in the same space and acknowledge them.
Launch and Revisit. We are live with a new brand and website. We are still fixing some layout issues, but overall, it’s ready for the world. It’s simplified and reflects more of what we love, who we are, and even what we want to be. The artistic feel represents the heart of what we do/ its art, science, and healing all in one. The colors remind me of the Earth we inhabit for a very short time, and the connection we have to the land, here in Oregon and all over Turtle Island. Research and resources are at the core of it all; it’s our legacy, and yours, and theirs, and those coming.
A Poem To End
It’s not been easy
It’s taken way more time and money than I imagined
I have seen egos damaged
Hearts hurt
Sleep lost
But, the creatives step up
And share their wondrous gifts
I’ve seen people reimagine
The message of what we do
For the greater good of the whole
We’ve arrived at the place
We set out to find
It’s now time to celebrate the rebrand and update our socials, emails, and cards
And continue to carry on in the work meant for us.
AKA
