Get help, give help
Block by block, The People’s Project is working across Los Angeles to scale mutual aid and ensure the everyday needs of our community are met. It’s building and scaling the capacity for organizers, volunteers, and neighbors to connect communities to rental assistance, food aid, financial literacy, workforce training, childcare, and more. The People’s Project is not a charity; it is the community standing together in solidarity, helping each other in meaningful ways.
1 — The Challenge
Matching people to critical aid, easily and quickly
The needs of our community are many—and when the systems and institutions tasked with providing that aid fail—it’s up to us to step up. The People’s Project is a groundbreaking effort to empower communities through mutual cooperation in South and Southeast LA.
2 — The Brand
Eye-catching and Modern
To reintroduce mutual aid to a new generation, we created a brand voice and identity as dynamic, flexible, and vibrant as the communities we wanted to reach.
Our primary logo—two interlocked hands in the shape of a heart—represents the campaign’s vision of community care and support. Meanwhile our bold typeface and clean layouts evoke a sense of authority and approachability.
Our designs embraced simplicity to lean into the “homegrown” aesthetics of traditional mutual aid, while infusing a level of professionalism that took The People’s Project to a new level.
Brand Identity — With vibrant colors, striking contrasts, and action-oriented typography, the look and feel of The People’s Project stands apart from the LA Federation of Labor.
Style Guide — Upon completion of the branding process, we created an easy to use guide for future development that included type styles, colors, image treatments, and applications.
Ilustration — Our fun, retro illustrations echo earlier eras of mutual aid, while a more modern colorway brings new energy to an established practice.
Photography — We used person-centered photography of organizers, volunteers, and neighbors to ground the campaign in the communities and people who make mutual aid possible.
3 — Collateral
Building awareness about mutual aid
Through street level activations and storytelling, the People’s Project is building awareness and education about mutual aid—what it is, what it isn’t, and how mutual aid has been at the center of transformational movements for generations.
Flyer Front — In introducing The People’s Project to folks across LA, we not only needed to explain what the project was about, but what mutual aid is.
Flyer Back — These flyers were distributed in person and contained educational information along with QR codes for folks to easily join the movement.
Collateral — From print pieces and business cards to apparel and billboards, we outfitted The People’s Project to meet communities where they are.
4 — The Website
Streamlining support
In building the website, we considered two main goals. The first was to explain what mutual aid is and how it works. The second was to create an ecosystem where people could connect with and support each other. To achieve these two goals, we built a site that functions as a hub for people interested in learning more and getting involved with mutual aid.
With concise, accessible copy; bold calls to action; and a clean user interface, this site takes the guesswork out of community support. We made sure The People’s Project was the place to be for anyone looking to give and receive support in their neighborhood.
Resource Directory — To establish The People’s Project as a one-stop shop for LA mutual aid, we integrated a robust directory of countywide resources.
Web Design — The website showcases the brand’s clean, bold colors and portrait photography against a solid black background, reducing distractions so the information can shine.
5 — Social Media
Centering people and their stories
Above all else, The People’s Project is about people helping people. To lean into this, we established our social media channels as a space to educate, connect, and share resources. From explainer carousels to posts promoting local mutual aid events, we provided our audiences with value and insight and continued to challenge popular ideas about what mutual aid is and what it can achieve.
Canva Templates — We created user friendly templates allowing The People’s Project team to build beautiful, on-brand messaging long into the future.
6 — The Impact
Showing and proving
On top of forging valuable partnerships with established mutual aid networks across the county, within its first year, The People’s Project connected over 6,400 people with everyday resources including school supplies, food, medical products, and so much more.
This campaign launched with an ambitious goal: to become the largest mutual aid network in LA County history and reimagine community support for a new generation. With the support of neighbors everywhere, we will make it happen.