Show your story. Don’t hold back.

It’s easy to create a website for an organization that serves young children. Young children are beautiful, innocent and blameless. People are sympathetic to young children in tough situations. We can all relate to them because we are either raising children, have raised children, or were children at one point.

Sadly, we have less sympathy for a homeless man, or a gay couple who wishes to marry. Sometimes, when we can imagine a scenario of blame, we feel justified in removing ourselves from the solution. We protect ourselves by thinking, “That guy with the sign could get a job… he should be trying to get one right now,” or “You’re gay, you can just get married in Canada.” Some of us don’t like looking at photos of the really old because they magnify fears of our own future. Images of disabled people make us feel helpless. We choose to look away.

It is your job to make us look.

Open our eyes. Tell a hard story in a positive light. Show a disabled child laughing with her family. Show a homeless family accepting help. Show personal stories that will attract more helpers. Social service nonprofits need to build awareness and acceptance in order to raise money and motivate volunteers. Photos and videos build awareness, which is the first step towards solving tough social issues and creating a more socially just world. You are out there working towards your mission every day. Don’t shy away from your mission when it comes to showing potential donors or members who it is that you serve.

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.