Fido’s stride
Fido’s Stride is a fundraising event to promote the New Leash on Life USA organization. They pair rescued dogs with incarcerated people to rehabilitate both parties and give them more opportunities for success when they return to society. The event centers around raising money and awareness for New Leash by reaching the surrounding communities through bright, playful, and inviting branding.
Background
My first step in this process was to choose a non-profit. While scrolling through lists of Philadelphia organizations, New Leash on Life USA quickly caught my eye. As someone who is interested in activism and who is also an animal lover, I couldn’t get New Leash out of my head. This organization pairs incarcerated people in low to medium-security prisons in the Philadelphia area with rescued pups from ACCT shelters. The pairs then go through training sessions, forming relationships that help them feel unconditional love, compassion, and forgiveness. The incarcerated people take classes of their own that prepare them for re-entry into society and set them up for success. This non-profit’s goal is to reduce recidivism and save at-risk dogs. I instantly felt such a passion for the organization and knew this was going to be my project.
Name & Logo
After diving into the research, I started working on names for the event. It took a while to think of a good name because I wanted it to be meaningful and relevant to the organization. After much trial and error, Fido’s Stride was born. The name “fido” comes from the Latin meaning “to trust”, “to confide in”, or “I am faithful”. The word “stride” means “a step or stage in progress towards an aim”. Those two words perfectly match the values and work of this organization.
From the beginning, I wanted the logo to be fun and playful, preferably a dog character, but it was a struggle to reach that. After many sketches of dogs that were too realistic, I finally found Fido. He’s leaping into new opportunities and doing it with a big smile on his face.
brand elements
The event branding consists of some key elements, including an icon system and photo treatments. The icons mimic the line of the Fido logo, playful and imperfect. The seven icons include a heart, paw, bone, hand, house, star, and graduation cap, all elements that can be related back to the organization.
Then, a bright, risograph-inspired photo treatment is used for photography. The treatment uses the primary color palette of pink, blue, and orange. This treatment brightens the photos, which really allows them to catch the eye of the viewer.
Welcome Bag & Merchandise
When registrants arrive at Fido’s Stride on the big day, they will pull up their QR code and show it to sign in to the event. Once it is scanned, they will be given their welcome bag. This Fido’s Stride drawstring bag contains runner’s bibs, a t-shirt, a bandana, and an info card about the pair they are sponsoring. There are also collars available to purchase that are not included in the welcome bag.
