Blog
"Because we know that when we invest in a young woman, she invests in the world around her. "
Meet the Brand
By Kim Burnett, Shadhika's President & CEO
September 10, 2019
Reading Time: 4 minutes
It all started with a simple request for a video to explain Shadhika’s work and impact.
That request led us to reflect on and clarify what matters to us as an organization, why we do this work, and what impact we are looking to have on this world. Drawing from our foundation and history, the result is a powerful new vision and brand for Shadhika. As this decade draws to a close, we’re excited to launch a bold new identity and catalyze our next ten years of work.
The Vision
Shadhika’s new vision starts with an empowered young woman making her own decisions, succeeding in school, contributing to the economy, and transforming her community. It is young women like this who will drive a groundswell of change across India, and we believe, will have ripple effects throughout our world.
Only their success and leadership can create a culture shift in India that ensures every young woman is empowered to realize her full potential. We feel so strongly about this idea, that we’ve made it our new tagline:
These young women are at the heart of our mission. As such, we understand the foundation of our work is to highlight their voices. For each young woman connected to Shadhika, our goal is to lift her voice – to help her create and tell her story through her unique and personal lens. This value is, and continues to be, the guiding light for all of our grant-making programs and the reason we partner with women-led nonprofits based in India who share this same goal.
To help amplify their voices in 2020, we will launch a new internship program called Making HERstory. As interns, these young women will receive a stipend to serve as on-the-ground Shadhika journalists, documenting their lives and sharing their challenges, successes and dreams for the future through their own personal lens.
The Brand
But that’s not all. We’ve translated this sharpened focus on our vision into a new brand identity.
Symbolizing both a compass to chart one’s way as well as the traditional ‘Rangoli’ art found throughout India, our new logo points to the future while honoring the past. The selection of the Rangoli as a symbol for our work is important. In many Indian homes, Rangolis are drawn in the doorways every day to bring good fortune. More poignant is that , the creation of Rangolis is almost entirely considered “women’s work.” In a country where women’s ideas and opinions are too often silenced, the creation of the Rangoli is a daily embodiment of a woman’s creativity and voice.
Taken together, all the elements of our new vision and visual identity point us in one direction:
to create a groundswell of change for young women’s rights and gender equality in India.
With young women’s leadership, voices, and a compass of support to guide them, it is only a matter of time. Because we know that when we invest in a young woman, she invests in the world around her.
Over the next several months, we will share the evolution of our new vision, including our 2020-2022 Strategic Plan, through social media, blogs and our regular e-newsletter. To make sure you don’t miss anything, be sure to add your name to our mailing list.
Thank you for being a part of Shadhika’s story. Thank you for championing this groundswell of change.
A special note of gratitude to the amazing team at OneK Creative for guiding us in the rebranding process and for designing our fantastic new brand identity and website!