Neighbors helping neighbors.
The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank works to ensure anyone who needs a healthy meal can get one. The organization’s existing brand identity had seen a few updates since its founding in 1980, but remained dated and did not signal the fresh food emphasis which had been an underpinning of their work for years. When the organization embarked on a transformative redevelopment of their Duquesne facility’s footprint — administrative offices, warehouses, and a public marketplace — leadership embraced the opportunity to elevate the brand identity in tandem to reflect the new strategic plan and expanded presence.
Identity Refresh
The existing brand name had long-established equity, despite not necessarily being reflective of the wide-ranging work that impacts the broader Southwestern Pennsylvania region. The logo was redrawn to feel reinvigorated but familiar. The revised mark strives to be more representative of fresh food initiatives and adds the visual weight necessary to perform well across print, signage, environmental, digital, and social channels. The addition of a “three rivers” motif better indicates the reach of the organization’s service, contributing to an evolved icon that signals integrity, care and compassion, and manifests a sense of place in the people who work and shop onsite at the Food Bank.
Signage and Wayfinding Exterior
“Where do I go?” That’s a frequent question from first-time visitors to the Food Bank’s 130,000-square-foot facility. Navigating its sprawling 10-acre campus can be a challenge, so an easy-to-follow sign system was designed to tackle the task of guiding guests to the four facility entrance points. The signs embody the brand’s vibrant color palette and their circular shapes and thick outlines enable them to pop from a flat, linear landscape.
The Market
An exciting new addition to the Food Bank is a 30,000-square-foot market, volunteer-supported and free to neighbors in need. A friendly logo was designed for the “The Market” to welcome shoppers and extend the brand. Touches of the color palette mingle inside with bright abstract fruit and vegetable graphics exciting the walls and endcaps.
Office and Community Spaces
The facility expansion included significant upgrades for its staff and volunteers who now enjoy bright open spaces to work and collaborate. The expansion also included two flexible centers for volunteers and members of the community to convene. To inform and connect with visitors, core Food Bank themes live in the graphics sprinkled into these new spaces. To aid navigation, bright wall colors are used to frame an area or cue an entrance, as clear signage continues throughout to identify, direct, and guide guests. Two new murals by local artist Kim Fox were commissioned that delightfully illustrate the organization’s mission.
The Warehouse and Agency Dock
At the heart of the Food Bank is the warehouse—large and vast, this is where it all comes together. Signage and environmental graphics engage visitors and identify key areas within the expansive space. Large-scale fruit and vegetable illustrations frame portal entrances and decorate the sides of the towering shelving, providing volunteers a cheerful backdrop as they pack boxes for shipment. As guests pass though, an education wall provides them with key information about the Food Bank and how it works. At the nearby agency dock, where partners arrive to pickup food supplies for distribution, a colorful wall-length graphic greets them, proudly displaying the names of the 11 counties served by the Food Bank.
Donor Recognition
The Food Bank’s work is made possible by dedicated partners and countless individuals, companies, and foundations, whose support provides 48 million meals to nearly 300,000 individuals annually. To recognize donors, a flexible-but-unifying signage system was developed to adorn the facility’s numerous named rooms, centers, and dedicated spaces. A custom wall display acknowledges the support from the Grow, Share, Thrive capital campaign that funded the expansion. This unique recognition wall includes donor names for 5 giving levels arranged within an apple shape, echoing the logo of the funding drive.
