The Legacy Center

With a “deep belief in the inherent dignity and potential of every youth, educator, and community member,” The Legacy Center creates equitable access to opportunities and resources within the 24:1 community. The organization does this by harnessing the power of regional leaders, its own community, educators, and through design.

Arcturis became involved with The Legacy Center through The Regional Business Council of St. Louis (RBC). Part of the council’s mission is a “belief that for the region to grow economically it is important that all our citizens have the opportunity to participate as the quality of life of the region is a fundamental business issue.” The RBC mobilized the collective power of its members to support The Legacy Center on this high social impact project that will elevate the entire St. Louis region.

The Legacy Center is located within a community of thriving neighborhoods and variable social economic groups. However, the 24 municipalities that make up this community also has the highest concentration of poverty in the Missouri side of the St. Louis region due to decades of disinvestment and decline. Through its programming, the center supports a diverse audience that leads to inspired futures, engaged learning, and job readiness. It creates a community cortex that provides a beautiful, safe place with much-needed resources historically reserved for wealthier zip codes.

The center’s Executive Director recognized the power the power of authentic design and branding, and how it inspires and engages audiences. He was insistent on establishing a visual brand identity at the genesis of the project to position the non-profit’s viability, commitment, and radical approach toward enduring social impact. To support this request, Arcturis initiated a series of creative discovery sessions and site visits with the client to correctly position the brand. The client impressed upon us the need for a radical approach: the essence of the brand needed to be visionary and revolutionary to bring attention to the disparity of opportunity in the region.

Choosing bright colors and bold iconography to support the mission-driven voice and impactful programming, the mark and associated imagery celebrate both youth power and community impact. Paired with the components showcased in the visual Brand Guidelines, they bring a vibrancy and professionalism that is needed as The Legacy Center makes it mark on the St. Louis community. The design had to be distinguished from the playful, child-like brands of other comparable organizations to attract and engage middle school and older audience. The brand needed to resonate with a demographic who often is not attracted by community space design, are statistically underrepresented, and often feel as though school is not a place for them.

At the same time, the brand needed to be flexible enough to also resonate with the RBC and regional business leaders who continue to invest in the organization. By making the design “radical,” it is positioned for longevity--this is a brand that will grow with the audience it serves making it relational to youth of all ages as well as community members. Its design offers a duality that allows for amplification towards a youth audience and a more subtle interpretation for professional and academic audiences.

The Brand Guidelines were designed to be robust and easy for the staff at The Legacy Center to adapt them to the tools they use for success in their work. They help the organization utilize design to move its youth’s experience forward through impactful graphics that encapsulate what the center brings to the community. A true original, The Legacy Center’s brand is one that supports the leading-edge aspirations of this vital organization.

As Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative once said, “We all have a responsibility to create a just society.” The design of this brand supports The Legacy Center leadership in its mission to bring community growth through access and support. Along with its partnership from leaders across the region, The Legacy Center has leveraged the collective impact of diverse stakeholder to create social impact to drive lasting change in the St. Louis region.