Farm Rescue is a nonprofit dedicated to helping farm families in crisis. In cases of illness or injury or natural disaster, Farm Rescue’s network of volunteers tackles mission critical tasks on the farm like planting and harvesting and haying.
From strategy to identity and final implementation across all touchpoints, FUEL guided the organization through a comprehensive brand development process. These efforts set out to minimize barriers for those seeking farm assistance, strengthen communications, drive funding, and expand Farm Rescue’s reach throughout the region.
Farmers and ranchers are incredibly self-reliant people who are immensely proud of their work and the legacy it provides their families. This mindset makes it difficult to ask for help even in the direst of circumstances. Yet miss a planting, haying or harvest window, and you can put the family operation in jeopardy.
Farm Rescue work towards a world where family farms and ranches thrive for generations to come. In times of inquiry, illness or natural disaster, its volunteers can step in to help farms and ranches tackle the most pressing issues to ensure the success of the season – and those to come.
Refining its brand purpose of helping these families thrive in a time of crisis while approaching every case with the dignity, care, and respect it deserves. And a clear articulation of the mindset required: no rest until the work is done.
For years, Farm Rescue was represented by a typographic logo featuring the two words separated by an optimistic green shoot. For all of its strengths, the mark had some limitations in our digitally-driven world.
To infuse additional strength and stability, FUEL reimagined the logo to include a shield representing Farm Rescue’s mission to protect the family farm for generations. This also served to protect the logo from busy backgrounds. In addition, the team maintained the equity of the leaf by nestling it in the R to bring balance to the wordmark while achieving a natural evolution to something more modern and flexible in application.
Since the team needed a logo to work with many varying applications both digitally, on merch, or in print — the horizontal, stacked, and monogram options delivered on this request.
In the primary color palette, green represents the flourishing family farms whereas red symbolizes both the urgency and dedication to protecting the families the organization serves. A secondary palette adds interest and cues to a life in agriculture.
A heavy-duty sans serif typeface provides a sturdy choice for headlines, while the retro script taps into Americana style and brings humanity to the mix.
A series of custom badges and icons were developed to add texture to the brand expression. Drawing inspiration from retro seed bags, these provided a playful way to reinforce the organization’s genuine ways and values. The set is highlighted by the flag representing their immediate response to calls for help. Also developed: a badge for recognizing volunteers with many years of service.
New business cards and stationery system created the opportunity to communicate the visual identity. This gave some added punch to make recipients take notice and conveyed the organization’s mission better than some barebones off-the-shelf stationery.
FarmRescue.org serves a multitude of constituencies: volunteers, donors, partners and sponsors, press, and most importantly, farmers and ranchers in need. Over the years, Farm Rescue’s website had begun to experience some sprawl. While the organization had an extensive library of videos to tell the stories of the farmers and ranchers it serves, it had become bogged down.
Our first order of business was to radically simplify the site’s architecture. This cut the page count in half. Now, users can find what they’re looking for more easily regardless of their needs. It also surfaced more of the brand’s personality to help remove stigma related to farmers feeling like they can’t ask for help. And lastly, the site created a more equitable representation amongst partners and sponsors to drive more inquiries from new prospects. The result? A more streamlined experience that’s driving more giving, earned media, volunteerism, and most importantly, more families assisted.
