Creative Agency Sans Serif's MissionBit.org Redesign Aims to Alter the Future for Youth of Color

Aug. 02, 2023

Founded in San Francisco in 2012, 501(c)(3) not-for-profit Mission Bit inspires youth of color to explore the world of STEM with project-based computer science education that embraces their identities. Now, thanks to a 2022 rebrand and a new website courtesy of client-relationship driven independent creative agency Sans Serif, Mission Bit’s success is steadily increasing. Chief among these positive impacts are rising enrollments.

After launching an initiative focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the field of design, Sans Serif’s Founder David Shultz and his colleagues were excited to rebrand Mission Bit on a pro-bono basis, to honor the organization’s success and augment its growth. Leveraging its expertise in identities, brand systems, and digital experience for numerous high-profile brands, the unveiling of a new brand mark and visual identity system created by Sans Serif was a key highlight of Mission Bit’s gala fundraising event back in November celebrating its 10-year anniversary.

Mission Bit CEO Christina Ortega confirmed:

"The rebranding work done by Sans Serif has positioned us well for our next growth phase. It has given us a more appealing and modern image that resonates with our target audience, especially youth of color in the Bay Area and beyond. This renewed identity helps us better empower and engage with them, fostering a stronger impact on their lives. In addition, I personally feel that the rebrand creates a more reputable image of our organization, which I hope appeals to more corporate partners and funders."

 

Building on that foundation, Sans Serif’s team including Managing Director Susy Siddens, Senior Project Manager and Developer Tricia Medina, Creative Director Amanda Boshard, Senior Designers Dan Shearen and Shannon McGill, Strategy and Content Director Jason Wyman, and Production Design Manager Crystal James were ready to forge ahead in developing the new Mission Bit website. According to McGill, “Attending the gala, meeting everyone at Mission Bit, and hearing the students’ stories firsthand really brought their mission to life for us even more.”

For the next phase, Mission Bit’s executives had a clear sense of what they hoped to accomplish.

Boshard explained:

“For the website, Mission Bit wanted to appeal to three specific audiences: students, their adult allies, and donors. They were also seeking to convey more credibility as an established but quickly growing leader in their field, and readiness for their next stage of growth. That next stage will require appealing to more supporters and even bigger organizational and corporate partners to support their mission."

 

Understanding that most new students and donations are the result of hearing about positive experiences from past students, the designers prioritized student success stories and Mission Bit testimonials more prominently in the new site. This approach hit home for Mission Bit’s leadership.

Ortega said:

“We are especially excited about the new website’s emphasis on showcasing student faces and stories. Emphasizing student faces and testimonials encourages other young individuals to join our program and see others who look like them and have successfully completed our courses. This representation fosters a sense of belonging and inclusivity, making it easier for potential students to envision themselves as part of our community.”

 

Based on the Mission Bit personality and look-and-feel distilled in the rebrand, the designers created mood boards and shared them with their clients using the cloud-based collaborative design tool Figma.

Boshard added:

"With our rebrand in motion, we made it a priority to seamlessly incorporate student stories, captivating photography, and a fun, modern design. The aim was to enrich the user experience and foster an inclusive path in the world of coding."

 

The alignment of a deeply considered digital experience strategy and expert design led to the creation of Mission Bit’s new website in which every design decision was intentional.

Boshard continued:

“We know the bar to get a teenager’s attention online is high, and that reaching Mission Bit’s target audience requires us to make things visually appealing, simple to use, and efficient to proceed from awareness to signed-up. Beyond that, in the nonprofit world, the competition for every dollar is fierce. From start to finish, we kept our focus on our project’s user-focused strategic objectives for key stakeholders.”

 

Sans Serif’s focus also guided revamped user journeys for students and donors alike, including enhanced filtering capabilities for teens exploring classes and a faster, more intuitive journey from landing to giving for donors.

Since Sans Serif is based in the Bay Area and partners with many tech companies, Mission Bit’s goal of making the benefits, resources, and wealth of the tech industry available to youth of color in the Bay Area provided a strong incentive to collaborate in such an extensive, ongoing way.

Boshard concluded:

“Using the brand strategy and look and feel established in our rebrand, we brought Mission Bit’s personality to life through a completely redone website. Moving forward, we know it will serve them very well, and that’s something we all are very proud of.”