Rebranding isn’t just about updating visuals, it’s about redefining how a story is told and who it reaches. For the Design Continuum Fund (DCF), that meant building a brand that could inspire the next generation of designers while staying grounded in purpose.
I spoke with Katie Bernard-Corbett, Senior Art Director at Teal Media, and Madie Graham, Designer at Teal Media, about their approach and process to redesigning the DCF brand, and what it means to design for impact.
Question: To start, can you introduce yourselves and your role in the project?
Katie:
I’m Katie Bernard-Corbett, Senior Art Director at Teal Media. I’m based in Durham now, but DC is still very close to me. This was a small but mighty team, primarily Madie and me, with support from a project manager and our Chief Creative Officer, Aruna Mall, who gave us high-level consultation throughout the project.
Madie:
I’m Madie Graham, a designer at Teal Media based in Nashville. I had the chance to work closely with Katie on this project, which was really exciting.
Q: What kind of work does Teal Media typically do, and how did this project come about?
Katie:
This is right in our wheelhouse. Teal almost exclusively works for nonprofits and other mission driven organizations. We’ve been doing that for the 17 years that Teal has been around. We work with clients who are aligned philosophically and values wise, which is wonderful.
We do a wide range of creative work, so a lot of web and a lot of branding work. We also do digital marketing and campaigns, but we’ll kind of pop in and do anything that folks need us to.
This project grew out of an existing relationship. We’ve worked with your team on DC Design Week before, and when the opportunity came up to rebrand DCF, it felt like a natural extension of that partnership.
Q: What were your first impressions of the existing DCF brand?
Katie:
The existing brand was actually solid. The tagline “Be a part of something big” was strong, and the visual identity had this grainy texture that made it interesting.
But it started to feel a bit dated and less flexible—especially when scaling or applying it across different formats. So, the goal wasn’t to start over, but to evolve it.
Q: What was the core idea driving the redesign?
Madie:
Our North Star was clear: inspire students to engage with the fund and strengthen the next generation of creative leaders.
We landed on the idea of a ripple effect—how one opportunity can expand outward and impact others. That connected directly to the idea of a “continuum.”
Visually, that became concentric circles, repetition and movement , and systems that feel like they radiate outward.
Q: The ripple visuals are striking; I see them as fingerprints. Did they take on additional meaning for you?
Katie:
We hadn’t even thought about the fingerprint, actually, so it’s nice to hear, like, other interpretations of it. But yeah, the whole idea of the continuum is like feeding back into what’s fed you. We originally thought of them as ripples, but that idea of “making your mark” became a really natural extension.
It also tied into the messaging: Make your mark on DC. Make your mark on design. Make your mark on the world.
Q: Can you walk us through your process from concept to final delivery?
Katie:
We started with discovery—learning about your goals, challenges, and audience. Then we ran collaborative sessions exploring both messaging and visuals.
If we broke it down to four parts, it would look like this:
- Messaging: defining vision, audiences, and key pillars
- Visual concepts: exploring logo directions and brand systems
- Refinement: iterating based on feedback
- Collateral buildout: creating templates and tools for real-world use
We always try to make sure the brand works beyond just presentation. It has to function day-to-day.
Q: You built a flexible brand system for DCF. Why was usability such an important focus?
Katie:
Because most organizations don’t have the resources to go back to an agency for every new asset.
We built flexible systems in Canva that the DCF team could actually use and adapt over time.
Q: The DCF mark is so bold. What was your approach to the typography?
Madie:
Absolutely! Typography became the foundation of the brand. I think the typography palette itself was kind of where we started. Katie found that beautiful Climate Crisis typeface, which is rooted in advocacy. So, the font itself has that social impact voice.
We designed a custom “DCF” mark that feels bold, stamp-like, and expressive. Katie hit the mark on squishing those letters together and customizing them in a way that was super unique.
It carries this subtle idea of leaving an imprint, of making your mark.
Q: Let’s talk about the color—why that green?
Madie:
We wanted something energetic and youthful. That lime green felt fresh and a little unexpected. We were aware of trends, but we didn’t want to be overly trendy, just current enough to feel alive.
Katie:
We jokingly call it “Madie Graham Green.” It’s bold, but because the brand evolves year to year, there’s room to experiment.
Q: What challenges did you encounter during the project?
Madie:
The concept itself was pretty abstract, things like equity, community, and creative ecosystems aren’t easy to visualize.
There were definitely moments where nothing felt right. But that’s part of the process, you keep iterating, collaborating, and pushing through until something clicks.
Q: What part of the final result are you most proud of?
Katie:
I’m proud of how that mark turned out. You know, we were struggling, a little bit like Madie said, with the intangibility of what we were trying to capture, and I think ending up with a really simple word mark that just was “DCF”, but was able to convey like, impact, youthfulness, vibrancy. I thought that was a win. The simplicity of the final mark, it’s just “DCF,” but it still feels vibrant and impactful without relying on obvious symbols.
Madie:
I’m with Katie on that, I love what happened with the “F” like, just the shape of the “F”. It’s so nerdy, but it just looks so nice from a typographic perspective. But I also, on a very personal, selfish level, love that we got to sneak in, such as zesty green into a project. I’ve been wanting to use the bright green for years, and like, this worked really well.
Q: How do you hope this rebrand impacts DCF moving forward?
Katie:
Well, hopefully it’s a little more eye-catching than where it’s been before, and grabs the attention of more young designers in the area, makes them curious about it, to look into it. So we’re hoping it helps boost applications and make it easier for the DCF team to do what they need to do with those flexible templates. It’s not the most glamorous part, but it’s a win to make your slides easier to create. That’s always a win.
Q: What advice would you give organizations thinking about a rebrand?
Katie:
I think Natalie and the team were really good about teaching us about what they knew about the audience and always bringing it back to them. In this case, it’s nice because all the photography is basically going to be coming from the community portraits of the students as well as, like their work. It’s about as many opportunities as you can to point it back to them.
I would also say if you can do messaging work before any visual branding work, even if it’s just internal. Get really clear on things, like who are we? What are we doing? Why are we doing it? And why are we different from anyone else who’s doing it? If you can answer those questions, it’s so much easier to get closer to the visual brand faster.
A lot of organizations have lots of different folks who offer opinions on the brand, and there can be a lot of misalignments in that approach. So, get really clear about how you actually want to come across to your target audience.
Q: Looking ahead, how do you hope this brand evolves over time?
Madie:
Honestly, I’m of the opinion that like design doesn’t have to be sacred, like, good design gets replaced, and we evolve. I don’t think design should be treated as permanent. It should evolve.
So I’m personally not attached to most of my design projects. Like, you kind of know when you let something out into the world, that other people are going to touch it and make it their own. And I think that’s one of the coolest parts about being a designer.
If anything, I guess I’d hope there’d be some more fun, funky typography in the future, and that we don’t go away from building eclectic, maximalist brands.
I think design as a trend has been going towards this idea of, like, universal, but in reality, it’s rooted and flattening. Like, if you’re making something for everyone, you’re not making it really for anyone. Like, it’s losing that human touch. So I guess I’d say, if there was something to keep, make it that idea of tangible texture, or just really cool typography and not sticking to the rules. Because the best thing about design is watching how people break the rules through time to create something amazing.
If someone redesigns this in 10-15 years and it’s better for that moment, that’s a success.
Katie:
Yeah, I totally agree. I think the designer can’t view their work as a precious baby that will never get changed. You can have it in your heart and love it while it’s here, but it’s always going to change.
The only thing that you would want to preserve in a brand refresh is anything that’s beloved or widely recognized by the audience. In this case, things like the stamp, mark, or the ripples or something else that becomes synonymous with DCF over time.
Q: Final thoughts – What’s one word to describe the DCF rebrand?
Madie:
Zesty! That’s a word we all caught onto. It was such a funny, joyful moment during our meeting with the DCF team when we used the word “zesty!” We just kept it, so I feel like zesty is our word.
Katie:
Yes, zesty! …The other word that comes to mind is “energized.” It just feels like it’s super charged, which I love.
Closing Thoughts
Teal Media treated the DCF rebrand as more than a visual update, they made a system designed to grow, adapt, and amplify new voices.
It’s bold without being rigid and structured without being limiting.
And most importantly, it creates space for the next generation to step in and make their mark.
Resources
Case study: View Teal’s DCF case study here.
Learn more about Teal Media: www.tealmedia.com
Learn more about the Design Continuum Fund (DCF)
