Noelle Lefforge
developing an election campaign identity that forges ahead
- Branding
- Graphic Design
Purpose
Noelle Lefforge, a clinical psychologist and associate dean, ran for APA President and needed a brand identity to resonate with both established doctoral members and graduate students.
She sought a visual identity balancing professional authority with approachability—conveying scientific excellence, social justice, and inclusive leadership while maintaining authenticity. The brand needed to feel reliable yet energizing, reflecting her “Forge Ahead” tagline and transformational leadership focus.
I created a brand identity system including a custom logo, brand board, a suite of social media templates and promotional swag examples. The color scheme combined grounding forest and sage greens for stability and authority with energetic coral, periwinkle, and lilac accents for warmth and accessibility. The final identity communicated courage, transparency, and progressive leadership while maintaining scientific credibility.
cultivating connections & growing brands
Creating branding that forged ahead
The logo needed to embody Noelle’s campaign tagline “Forge Ahead,” capturing both forward momentum and transformational leadership. The logo exploration process investigated over ten distinct visual directions, each rooted in themes of leadership, progress, and inclusive collaboration. Concepts ranged from dynamic letterforms incorporating movement and pathways to symbolic elements like chain links, rainbow arches, and compass markers—each designed to balance professional authority with approachability. The process ultimately narrowed to two favorites: a rainbow-inspired arch symbolizing optimism and hope, and an interlocking chain-link design emphasizing strength through unity and connection.
Social Templates
A cohesive set of social media templates for Noelle Lefforge’s APA presidential campaign, designed to feel professional, warm, and forward-looking. The templates are easy to edit and repurpose for different content types. They feature a signature wave motif—drawn from her logo mark—that echoes her “Forge Ahead” concept. Modular layouts cover intros, key initiatives, endorsements, and event features, all with clean typography and accessible color contrast for readability. Together, the templates build a recognizable, repeatable brand presence at a glance.
