Penn-Mar Human Services

Below: Before and After Images in Slide Show, Video, Summary, Credits

Penn-Mar Human Services provides a range of services for more than 500 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Maryland and Pennsylvania. Penn-Mar is viewed by many as innovative, compassionate, and person-centered with a well established reputation.

Penn-Mar needed a brand refresh to better reflect the organization’s tone and style that had evolved in recent years to become bolder and simpler — avoiding industry “lingo” and sharing information straightforwardly. In 2019, Penn-Mar merged with Change, Inc., and the need to blend the two organizations accelerated the desire to rebrand. Additionally, 2021 marked Penn-Mar’s 40th anniversary.

The opportunity was ripe to rebrand and better reflect their growth and innovation.
Penn-Mar partnered with our firm to develop a cohesive brand identity to unite all of Penn-Mar.

When Penn-Mar merged with Change, it was crucial to understand the cultures, missions, and values of both organizations to determine cross-organizational alignment. A rigorous six-month process engaged all stakeholders and provided the foundation for us to develop the merged organizations’ essence in a fresh way under a single umbrella: Live Courageously. This new tagline encapsulates their unwavering support for people with disabilities and empowers their team members, families, and supporters to be a part of something bigger than themselves.

We translated this brand strategy into a bold new look for Penn-Mar. The updated brand identity includes a new logo, refreshed color palette, responsive CMS website, brand video, collateral, and empowering new tagline. The new penn-mar.org website was designed with the courageous Penn-Mar community in mind, as well as the people they hope to serve in the future. The site features robust resources that make connecting to Penn-Mar’s services simpler than ever. It’s also fully accessible, ensuring that everyone can navigate the site with ease. A brand-reveal video was created to visually tell the story of the “why” behind the new messaging, and to create excitement about the future of the organization..