Custom Photography: A necessity for social service nonprofits

Social service nonprofits serve increasingly diverse populations. They improve the lives of children, families and individuals who are young, middle-aged, old, Hispanic, African-American, Native-American, Asian-American, gay, lesbian, transsexual, bisexual, disabled, deaf, sick, or recovering. Stock photography of diverse faces is accessible and cheap, but it is at best inaccurate and at worst misleading.

Showing the faces of those you serve in your publications is important for four reasons:

1. Potential donors, members or volunteers need to believe you would be a good investment of time or money. A photograph of a real person accompanied by a positive outcome unique to that person is proof of your ability to solve real problems.
2. If the population you serve sees themselves in your communications, they are more likely to remember you and seek out your services.
3. Photography is a part of branding. Over time, you will develop your own style of storytelling through photography. It is impossible to make stock photographs consistent in terms of a unique style.
4. Exposure to diversity changes public perception and makes us more tolerant. As gay couples expose their personal stories and struggles, we increasingly support their rights. Listening to  parents of disabled kids makes us more comfortable inviting a disabled child into our own kids’ classrooms.

So why not use stock photos? They are cheap, readily available, and you can search “ethnic child” and get 3000 results.

Maybe. But the story you are telling is unique. The face of that story is unique as well. The true face of a drug addicted mom who found the strength to beat her addiction and get her kids back cannot be found in stock. You may find a photo of a mom with kids whose ethnicity is close enough to the real mom, but the real mom’s face will express true loss and triumph. You also risk alienating your public if your definition of “ethnically close enough” isn’t the same as your public’s definition. And for the real mom, having her story told publicly in a sympathetic way can be a nail in the coffin of her past.

Be truthful in your communications. You can find a stock photo of some crayons or a wheelchair if you need one, but invest in a photographer to photograph your people. One shoot per year will give you enough images to work with over time. Cull your supporters and you may find a photographer who is willing to donate her time and talent. You will eventually grow an archive that highlights your success through the years.

Words go first. Design follows.

Design and words are the form and function of communications. Design is form: it is to words what tone, volume, intonation and gesturing are to speech. Words are function: they provide structure and purpose. Design and words are each worth 50% of successful communication. When the balance shifts, trust fails. Similar to the person who always has a point, but he is arrogant and wearing too much cologne so you just want to get away. Or that thing in the middle of the art gallery that looks really cool, but you’re not completely sure it’s okay to sit on. Or the massive amount of copy on the page after the magazine ad for a life-changing medication. The expression "form follows function" is only part of the design story. The other part is that both are equally important.

Though design and content are equally important, it is key to remember that content drives design. The flavor of the copy informs and often dictates design. This is not a chicken and egg question. Words come first. A designer takes the words, organizes them, makes them easy to follow and understand, beautifies their presentation and then gets out of their way. 

Don’t expect good design if you can’t provide copy first. Take the time to write. For example, before you design a logo, make sure your mission, vision, values and personality are figured out. Get a good writer to pare down what you’ve written into a clear, smart toolbox of organized text. Then work on design. The designer will internalize the words and express them visually. Design grows from words. Without words to inform design, there is only meaningless decoration.

10 ways to achieve visual consistency in communications

Visual consistency keeps you in charge of your organization’s public perception. For some organizations, visual consistency seems to be second nature, effortless. For others, every new marketing opportunity begets a scramble to get things organized and out the door.

Consistency doesn’t stem from a staff of marionettes controlled by a puppeteer higher up the chain of command, nor does it require the employment of a frazzled, hall-monitor type of manager. In a nonprofit organization, consistency is achieved by the creation and maintenance of a toolkit for each staff member. With the right tools, a staff member is able to represent your organization within a framework that is immediately recognizable to the recipient, without having to invent that framework for each interaction— whether face-to-face, written, or within your social network.

Visual consistency does not require high-price design or excessive, time-consuming control. The right toolkit will allow your staff to work toward your mission with minimal frustration, adding their personality to their work without diminishing your organization’s brand. Following are 10 ways to achieve visual consistency. 

1. Embrace your logo. For most organizations, the seed of who you are is your logo. Is it casual? Formal? A little edgy? Defiant? The colors on your website come from your logo. The tone of your newsletter comes from your website, which comes from your logo. The personality you project on your blog comes from your website, which comes from your logo. See how that works? If you don’t embrace your logo, consistency will be a problem. If your logo doesn’t well represent your organization, scrap it. 
2. Customize your pages. Twitter offers customizations that allow you to change the background and images on your page. Facebook lets you upload images and graphics. Do your pages match your website? Do a test: open your Twitter page and then open your website in a window next to it. They don’t have to be identical, but they should feel like they are rooms in the same house. 
3. Unify email signatures. Make sure everyone in your organization sends out emails that match. Is everyone using the same signature? Fonts? Type size? Have everyone in your organization send an email from his work account to your home account and see what the emails look like. If this seems restrictive, you can create several graphics users can choose to include in their signatures. 
4. Create a Word template. If your staff creates documents in Microsoft Word, give them a template with your logo and relevant contact information in place. Define a few styles in Word so that the user can pick from what’s already there. This will allow users to do their jobs more efficiently and consistently without spending time on design. 
5. Create a PowerPoint template. Have a PowerPoint file with some very simple background pages so when your staff needs to prepare a quick presentation, it’s ready. Better yet, see what happens if you skip PowerPoint. Sometimes a good speaker making personal contact with an audience is more compelling. 
6. Use consistent conference displays. Create a display that is easily customizable, but includes your logo and mission. 
7. Have frequently used graphics on hand. Give your staff a collection of logos and frequently-used images to send out when required. Basic formats include: jpg, gif, eps and pdf. 
8. Create an E-Newsletter template. If you use an email marketing website like Emma, eTapestry, or Constant Contact, make sure you have a template for e-newsletters. The basic building blocks of the template are a header (usually a graphic) and predefined type styles and layout. Does the template relate to your logo? Does the font you choose match your website? 
9. Maintain some printed material. It’s a good idea to give your staff a postcard or brochure that includes a little about you and the various ways to connect with you. Printed material is still a great way to connect with potential donors, especially in person. It acts as a physical invitation to visit your digital domain. 
10. Give thanks. Come up with an easy way to thank people, either with a thank you letter template in your email marketing software or physical thank you cards with envelopes that you hand write and mail. Social service nonprofits rely on personal connections to build a solid donor base. A hand-written note is always well received. 

One final note on visual consistency: It’s not about everything being perfect or beautiful. If you make something ugly, make it consistently ugly—like Craigslist.org. Or consistently (defiantly) simple, like Google.com.