Brand Identity Design for leftist, queer, trans, neurodivergent and anti-racist business people and organisations
Show funders you’re legit while still looking hella cute, and direct more resources to your community without selling your soul
Get a beautiful, visually accessible brand that builds trust with funders from a comrade who shares your values. Catch the attention of grantmakers, feel more confident, and save your team from DIY burnout and graphics that look like they belong on a wellness app for accountants.
“Having a stronger visual identity helped us to present the project better to the city council, social entities and other organisations, strengthening trust and opening up new opportunities for collaboration.”
— L’Espigall Housing Cooperative, Vilanova i la Geltrú
If there’s no beauty,
it’s not my revolution*
* with apologies to Emma Goldman
20+ years designing for anti-racist campaigns, trans-feminist collectives, housing co-ops, and social enterprises
Mission: focused
Visuals: all over the damn place
First of all, no shame here! You did what every under-resourced collective does when they start, and created a logo on Canva that was held together by a lick and a promise. You relied on a lovely volunteer, and prioritised doing the real-world-work over developing your own foundations for growth.
And that’s OK! It worked!
It got you to where you are today. But your project has grown, you’re helping more and more people every day, and that DIY branding is starting to work against you:
Your current visuals are helping OTHER orgs get picked for funding
Inconsistent branding, mismatched fonts, and amateur graphics can make your project look unorganized to both supporters and funders. Even though your work is strong, your visuals might be giving them a reason to trust and choose other organizations over yours.
Your team is losing hours every week to graphic design brawls
And it doesn’t even look great in the end. Without clear brand guidelines, that’s going to keep happening. That’s precious time that could be spent on your mission.
Trying to outsource to agencies can be draining
Design and marketing agencies don’t understand your mission or your structure. You shouldn’t have to explain your politics or compromise your values to get a professional brand built for you. So you put it off thinking “I’ll never find someone who understands our mission AND is a super good logo and graphic designer!”
But you did. Hi!
I’m Jen Bell (all pronouns), activist and graphic designer.
For more than 20 years, I’ve been designing for rebels with a cause. My clients have ranged from mission-driven nonprofits, to worker cooperatives, to artists, musicians, and values-led small businesses — all who needed high quality visuals, aligned with their actual practices and politics.
I’m active in social justice movements from decolonisation to trans-feminism, for police and prison abolition, for secure and stable housing and in celebration of gender and sexual diversity. I’ve campaigned for the decriminalisation of sex work, against genocide and all forms of fascism and racism, and in support of the well-being of people, animals and our precious planet. And I’ll keep doing that as long as I live.
I understand what it takes to craft professional visual identities that help my clients build credibility and connect with their communities, without compromising their values. And they’ve been grateful for my help in translating their work into visuals that help them mobilize supporters and spread their message.
If that’s what you’re looking for, I’d love to work together!
“It’s a pretty rare combination to find someone with so much experience in political organising and critical creative practice who is also able to produce strong visual work on a deadline and juggle all the organisation that comes with it. Jen understood both the political content and the practical realities of getting things done.”
— Anisha Gupta Müller, Kunsthochschule Weissensee
Design alone can’t save the world, but it can take a huge weight off the people who are working towards our collective liberation — people like you
Just like the communities you uplift, your brand needs resources to thrive
Your project is an enthusiastic seedling, growing in its little pot, but now the roots are getting crowded. You’re ready to move into rich fertile soil, grow hearty and strong, and start taking up more space. A well-thought-out visual identity can help you do that!
Intentional branding is a complete, ethical, and sustainable brand strategy and visual identity design package built on research.
An intentional visual identity helps you:
Establish trust: makes it clear at a glance that you are an organisation that puts care and thought into what you do.
Connect with your people: confidently speak the visual language of those you serve and support, your funders, collaborators or cooperative members.
Reduce decision fatigue: with a blueprint for all your visual comms, there’s no need to start from scratch for every social media post, presentation, or flyer. And they’ll all look like part of a cohesive whole.
With intentional branding you’ll be ready to promote your project with confidence, build a consistent brand presence that establishes trust, and have a design system that makes it quick and easy to create on-brand designs in the future.
Visuals built to last longer than capitalism
Transparent pricing, no hidden fees, and 0% interest payment plans
The branding packages
Every package includes:
- WCAG accessibility compliance
- 100% human-designed (no AI)
- Full commercial ownership rights: do whatever you want with your logo
- Built-in time for collective reflection & feedback
#1. Small but Mighty
Make the most of a limited budget by creating foundational branding assets quickly.
- Brand clarity guidance & context research for a strategic branding direction
- Moodboards representing 2 possible design directions
- 1 logo concept developed into a final logo design (includes 2 rounds of feedback & revisions)
- Logo variations (horizontal, vertical, profile pic, dark mode, etc.)
- Brand color palette fulfilling WCAG Accessibility Standards
- Brand typography (heading & body fonts)
- Full, worldwide commercial usage rights forever
You will receive:
- Editable vector source files (.ai, .eps, .svg)
- Print- & digital-optimized logo files (.png, .svg)
- 1-page brand style guide covering logo, fonts, and colors (.pdf)
Investment: 3000€
Turnaround time: 3 – 4 weeks
#2. Brand Boost (most popular)
Covers everything in Package #1, plus deeper research, imagery guidelines, templates, and an in-depth brand manual.
- In-depth research, strategy, and moodboards representing 3 possible design directions
- 1 logo concept developed into a final logo design (includes 3 rounds of feedback & revisions)
- Logo variations, WCAG brand color palette, and brand typography
- Illustration and photography guidelines
- Brand pattern, texture, and/or gradient + website Favicon
- 2 custom templates of your choice (e.g., social media posts, report, presentation; includes 1 round of adjustments)
- Full, worldwide commercial usage rights forever
You will receive:
- Editable vector source files (.ai, .eps, .svg)
- Print- & digital-optimized logo files (.png, .svg)
- Complete multi-page brand guidebook with explanations and examples (.pdf)
- 2 custom templates of your choice
Investment: 4500€
Turnaround time: 4 – 6 weeks
#3. Big Splash
Designed to set you up for the long-term. Covers everything in Package #2, plus extra templates, a 1-hour coaching call, site update, and 2 custom add-ons.
- In-depth research, strategy, and moodboards representing 3 possible design directions
- 1 logo concept developed into a final logo design (includes 3 rounds of feedback & revisions)
- Logo variations, WCAG brand color palette, brand typography, visual guidelines, pattern/texture, and Favicon
- 3 custom templates of your choice (e.g., social media posts, report, presentation)
- 1-hour coaching call on sourcing/preparing images, editing templates, and putting your identity into practice
- Your website updated with the new visual identity
- PLUS 2 custom additions of your choice: (hero illustration, branded Substack page, email signature, business card, flyer/poster, banner ad, merch design, or packaging design)
- Full, worldwide commercial usage rights forever
You will receive:
- Editable vector source files (.ai, .eps, .svg)
- Print- & digital-optimized logo files (.png, .svg)
- Complete multi-page brand guidebook with explanations and examples (.pdf)
- 3 custom templates + final files for your 2 custom additions
Investment: 5500€ (Custom pricing available if you need more than 2 additions)
Turnaround time: 5+ weeks (Exact timeline provided based on selected additions)
Not finding exactly what you need?
Let me know what you’re looking for and I can draw up a custom project quote for you to make sure you’re getting exactly what you need.
Is investing in design
worth it?
When you’re managing a movement project or non-profit, every cent matters. So you want to make sure your resources go where they have the most impact.
1. DIY design has a massive hidden cost in staff hours
When your team spends hours every week Frankensteining something on Canva, guessing colors, or starting from scratch for every report, that’s staff and volunteer capacity being pulled away from community organizing, campaign strategy, and direct care work.
2. Professional design builds the institutional trust needed to secure funding
You’re doing incredible work on the ground, but inconsistent visuals give risk-averse grantmakers, city councils, and donors an excuse to hesitate. Cohesive, accessible design removes that skepticism and helps you win the support you deserve.
3. You get permanent ownership
There are no recurring licensing fees, platform lock-ins, or hidden charges. Once we finish, you own 100% of your assets, vector files, and guidelines to use however you see fit. It’s a foundational asset built to support your work for the long haul.
If cash flow is tight, remember that all packages can be spread over up to 12 monthly payments with 0% interest and zero added fees.
What the comrades are saying
Kind words from previous clients
“Having a stronger visual identity helped us present the project better to the city council, strengthening trust and opening up new opportunities.”
“Before our rebrand, we faced the challenge of finding members for our housing cooperative to ensure the viability of the project. We felt we had a lot of work to do to promote the project effectively and establish ourselves as a trustworthy organization… The creation of the logo and defined visual identity marked a new stage in our communication strategy. It projected a more consistent, serious image while preserving a sense of being approachable and friendly.
Having a stronger visual identity helped us to present the project better to the city council, social entities, and other organizations, strengthening trust and opening up new opportunities for collaboration. In the words of one of our members: ‘It’s amazing,I can’t wait to frame it and hang it on my wall at home!’”
— L’Espigall Housing Cooperative, Vilanova i la Geltrú
“It’s a pretty rare combination to find someone with so much experience in political organizing who is also able to produce strong visual work on a deadline.”
“I chose to work with Jen because I really like their work and appreciate their political integrity. Jen has the perfect balance of being organized with clear communication skills but is also chill… I have never needed to follow up for things or over-explain my ideas to Jen; they always understand my ‘power critical’ approach immediately and we have fun in the process.
Jen went beyond their role as a designer, helping me structure and organize different stages of projects and giving useful advice on navigating complicated political decisions within institutional settings. I recommend Jen a million percent.”
— Anisha Gupta Müller, Equal Opportunity and Women’s Representative, Kunsthochschule Weissensee
“Working with Jen really helped and changed everything—our new visuals better represent the love and care we put into our project.”
“Working with Jen really helped and changed everything. Our new visuals better represent the love and care we put into La Bassa, and we’ve been able to use them to create many things that support our project. Thanks to Jen, we now have a more professional website and social media presence. We love our new logo and have created flyers, stickers, and pins with it, with plans for more!
Jen encouraged us to discuss and think more deeply about what we really wanted out of this. They were kind and a good listener, while being very open and responsive.”
— La Bassa Mar, Trans Inter Queer Retreat and Seminar Space
“This is the second time we’ve engaged Jen as a designer, and we certainly hope to work with them again.”
“Jen made the design process easy and positive, and their skill and experience are really evident in everything they make. This is the second time we’ve engaged Jen as a designer, and we certainly hope to work with them again. Communication was clear and proactive; they asked us the right questions in order to help us articulate our needs, made an effective design plan and timeline, and worked quickly—even when we expanded our ask.”
— Clare Shufflebotham, Campaign Director, Animals Aotearoa
“Jen’s initial questionnaire allowed us to consolidate our ideas before they undertook the work, saving us time and money.”
“Jen was professional and easygoing in all our interactions. The initial questionnaire allowed us to consolidate our ideas before Jen undertook the work, saving us time and money. They then brought excellent suggestions and draft designs, capably taking our suggestions on board and returning with a design we agreed upon within a tight timeframe. Jen liaised with our printer, ensuring a smooth process all the way to receiving the final printed product.”
— Valerie Morse, Left of The Equator Press
“Jen visualised an abstract concept with precision, maintaining all the depth and layers we wanted to retain.”
“Jen employed a thorough approach to understanding our needs, asking pointed questions which helped us to think through the concept and return with clarity. They visualised an abstract concept with precision, maintaining all the depth and layers we wanted to retain. We’re thrilled with the end result!”
— Tech for Bad Campaign
“Jen was a consummate professional—prompting me to think broadly about what worked for the audience as well as what worked for me.”
“Jen was a consummate professional – both prompting me to think broadly about what worked for the audience as well as what worked for me. She was quick to communicate, direct with constructive feedback, and could clearly articulate the design logics behind her decisions. I would definitely work with her again – just look at the results.”
— Murdoch Stephens, Autor, Visas Now!
“Now that we have visuals that are as high-quality as our food, we feel confident and prepared to launch.”
“Jen was fantastic to work with: guiding us through the process, listening to our needs, and making our vision come to life—quickly! We are thrilled with the logo for our restaurant. Now that we have visuals that are as high-quality as our food, we feel confident and prepared to launch.”
— Amjad and Nat, Ollie’s Fine Sandwiches, Berlin
Clarity is care: FAQ
Yes, I offer payment plans for up to 12 months, with no fees and no interest charged.
Please note that I always require an initial payment in order to begin work, and I am not able to deliver your final design files until payment is completed.
Tell me about your needs and let’s create a payment plan together.
It’s common for designers to offer multiple logo concept designs, but over the years I’ve found that is not the most effective use of our time together, and doesn’t create a better result. In the past I found myself wasting time, developing extra options and creating long presentations, leaving my client under pressure to choose the “right” one.
The best logo is not necessarily the one that matches your personal preferences, it’s the one that fulfils all the needs we’ve identified in our research. So instead of spending time developing and refining multiple draft logos, I put that time into research, strategy, and developing a single concept that fulfils your needs.
That doesn’t mean I just draw one sketch and call it a day; I usually sketch out hundreds of options, and then take the one that clearly works best to develop and present to you.
I’m usually booked up a month or two ahead, so please contact me earlier rather than later.
The timeline for each package includes time for pause, reflection, and feedback. I find that “sleeping on it” and having time away from the computer often gives me my best ideas—ones that we might miss if we rush the process.
No, I do not use generative AI in any part of my graphic design process. No shade to anyone who does, but the use of a technology which in its current form steals from artists, drains water sources, exploits human labour, and pollutes our fragile planet just doesn’t sit right with me. Plus, AI graphics tend to look derivative and soulless.
My branding and visual identity work is all about trust and intention. In my view, AI graphics give off the vibe of scammers looking to cut corners and make a quick buck. Is that what you want your visuals to communicate?
As I work collaboratively with my clients from the start, and include a set number of revisions in each design package, I’ve never encountered a situation where extra revisions were necessary. My process is designed so that we work together to create a logo you love!
At each step of the way, you’ll see where the design is at and be part of directing how we develop it, so there’s no need to worry about any unpleasant surprises!
If for some reason extra revisions are needed—for example, you decided on a new tagline for your branding project—this additional work will be charged at a rate of €150 per hour.
For each project, I will discuss with you your preferences regarding fonts: do you have a budget for licensing fonts, or do you prefer to work with free, open-source fonts?
I will work with you to make sure you have the correct license: for web, print, and/or merchandise. And if you want something a little different from the big names found all over Google and Canva, I’ll be happy to recommend some excellent fonts made by small and independent type foundries.
No, I don’t have a signature design style. I work with you to create graphics in the style that works best for you and your audience.
This investment is designed to pay for itself in two concrete ways: time and funding.
First, it stops your team from losing hours every week to design guesswork, handing you back capacity to focus on your mission. Second, a cohesive, accessible visual identity removes institutional skepticism and gives grantmakers, city councils, and community investors more confidence in your organizational stability.
Plus, you get full, permanent ownership rights to your logo and can use it however you desire. .
Yes! Accessible design is good design, and that’s a hill I’m prepared to die on! I create all my work in line with recognised accessibility standards, because no matter what you do, your audience does include people with colour blindness, reduced vision, and dyslexia. And making sure the visuals work for these communities also means they are clearer and more legible for everyone else.
After burning myself out doing a ton of free work in the past, I’m currently in the process of creating new structures for making my work financially accessible.
If you would like to work together but money is an issue, please get in touch with me and tell me more about your project. Together we can try to figure something out.
Not sure if this is right for you?
Book a free 30 minute call with me to tell me where you wanna be and how I can help you get there. No pressure! If I don’t think I’m the right designer for you, I’ll be honest and suggest others who I think might be a better fit.
Ethical branding for today, tomorrow and after the revolution
The strongest identities stay recognizable as they grow and evolve.
My clients often tell me that the design process itself brought them clarity about their work, and that their new visuals gave them a deeper sense of pride and excitement about sharing what they do with the world.
It’s time to say goodbye to “good enough” graphics, and hello to clear, confident, and cohesive visuals that do your mission justice.
Ready to get started?
Because I give every project my full care and attention, I only work with a small number of groups at a time and am usually booked 1 to 2 months in advance.
If you have an upcoming campaign launch, grant deadline, or major event on the horizon, reaching out early ensures we have plenty of breathing room without rushing the process.