CLIENT:
Dr. Tafona Ervin
SERVICES:
Education advocate and nonprofit leader launches personal brand and website ahead of public speaking launch.
Foundation for Tacoma Students’s (now EdCollaborative) CEO , Dr. Tafona Ervin, has spent over 15 years pushing for better outcomes for Tacoma’s young people. With a book on the way and a speaking career taking off, she needed something separate from the organization she runs: a brand that was hers. Being a trusted creative partner for FFTS for several years, Ayouni has been a witness to Dr. Tafona’s leadership and stage presence, so was well positioned to build Dr. Ervin’s personal identity and website.
THE CHALLENGE:
For years, Dr. Ervin’s name was tied to the work of an organization. Her voice, her ideas, her approach to systems change all lived inside someone else’s brand. As she prepared to publish her book and step onto stages as a speaker in her own right, she needed an identity built around her, not her title. It had to reflect a standard of greatness and excellence she holds herself to, and speak directly to the leaders she was setting out to support: people working toward the same collaboration and systems change she has spent her career pursuing. The brand needed the same timeless, classic quality as the women she admires, someone people trust the moment they see her name.
OUR APPROACH:
We drew inspiration from some of the great Black & Brown women recognized nationally for the same mix of authority and warmth Tafona carries. That informed a visual direction built to last: a classic mix of gold and black, with warm imagery and clean typefaces. Her website was designed with her speaking career in mind first, giving her a place to publish her writing, promote her book, and connect with education leaders around the country looking for someone who can support and engage their teams.
