Stronger Brands, Greater Impact

As the nation’s leading association for student affairs professionals, NASPA has long championed strategies that support first-generation college students. These “FirstGen” students represent the majority of all undergraduates today, yet continue to graduate at lower rates than their peers. With FirstGen experiences and outcomes capturing increased attention across the education sector, NASPA teamed up with long-time FirstGen advocates,The Suder Foundation, to develop a suite of programs that help colleges and universities better serve FirstGen students. To further the impact of their programs, the two partners engaged Mighty Good to strengthen their programs’ branding.

Less is More: Consolidating Efforts Under One Brand

Following an extensive research process, Mighty Good identified that the various programs could more successfully serve as an intuitive system of support for institutions of higher education as well as students, by streamlining disconnected branded entities. So, Mighty Good developed a brand architecture that linked the work under one brand system, FirstGen Forward, and one shared tagline, “The Future is FirstGen”. This unified identity and language was designed to highlight the size of the FirstGen population, and the widespread implications for FirstGen student success.

A Youthful Look

To ensure the FirstGen Forward visual identity system was as vibrant and youthful as the population it represents, Mighty Good employed bright, diverse, and energetic colors with confident structure, humanized with student imagery. Throughout the system, bold lines move through the space to symbolize the new pathways that FirstGen students forge as they move through higher education and into the future.

‍A Bold Logo

To evoke the organization’s leadership on behalf of the FirstGen population, Mighty Good created a logo mark that employs a unique fusion of “F” and “G” letters into one symbol, with the “F” formed from the negative space inside the “G”. The result is a clean, distinct, bold symbol

that can be used on its own in a variety of ways.

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A System to Inspire and Celebrate Success

Under the new brand system, the signature program to help higher education institutions transform into FirstGen-supportive campuses, was renamed from First Scholars to the FirstGen Forward Network. Mighty Good revamped the program’s “designation badge” system to acknowledge high performing campuses, incentivize other institutions to follow suit, and help prospective students be more informed consumers.

“We knew our programs, if implemented, could dramatically change outcomes for FirstGen students. What Mighty Good helped us see was how much uptick could increase if the programs lived under one clear, unified banner. And that when clarity fuels adoption, students win. FirstGen Forward gives institutions a framework they want to rally around, and a movement they’re proud to join. That’s how systems change takes hold.”

–   Kevin Kruger, Former President & CEO, NASPA, FirstGen Forward Board Member

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