Posted May 9, 2008
INDIBLU DESIGN GROUP LAUNCHES NEW IDENTITY FOR ARC SERVICES ACROSS NORTH CAROLINA WITH THE HELP OF SARAH MCLACHLAN
A launch event and open house will be held Friday, May 9 from 12 to 4 p.m. at Monarch’s new location, 350 Pee Dee Avenue, Albemarle in the newly renovated Lillian Mill. A ribbon cutting ceremony will be held at 1 p.m. A monarch butterfly release is also planned to symbolize the new beginning.
Monarch is a nonprofit organization providing support and resources to more than 3,500 people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, mental illness and substance abuse issues in 35 counties across North Carolina. Headquartered in Albemarle, N.C., it will continue to be affiliated with the national organization known as The Arc.
Monarch’s new name, logo and signature line – “Helping Dreams Take Flight” have been created in an effort to clarify the organization and the people it supports. Monarch provides a vast array of services for people with developmental disabilities as well as people who experience mental illness or substance abuse issues.
“The extensive services and broad target audience made this project particularly challenging,” said Kimber Flynn Evans, Indiblu Design Group principal and design director. “The more we learned through our involved research initiative, the more we knew a name change was absolutely necessary.”
In the original name, the acronym “ARC” stood for “Association of Retarded Children,” but this was no longer appropriate or relevant. The research indicated that most people were very confused by the name “Arc Services” and the organization’s relationship with other chapters of The Arc throughout the area. However, most of all, research revealed what a great job the organization does and how involvement with it had changed lives. “We needed to do something big to help clear up the confusion and create awareness,” said Evans.
Monarch executive director Peggy Terhune is thrilled with the concepts presented by Indiblu Design Group. “I actually told them we would never change the name. When they came to the executive team with a presentation that featured a new name, logo and tag line, I was quite surprised. But after careful consideration, we decided to present the idea to our board of directors, who loved it and told us to move forward. When the team at Indiblu made its presentation to over 200 managers, they received a standing ovation. Everyone both internally and externally has embraced our new name.”
Evans describes the rationale behind the image saying, “Monarch is the perfect name – it has the heritage of the “ARC” within its’ spelling. It represents growth, change and strength – the very things the organization helps people achieve. The monarch butterfly is an amazing creature, fragile in some ways, incredibly strong in others. It is a natural, beautiful image which occurs all around us and everyone appreciates.”
One of the main launch pieces created by Indiblu Design Group is an awareness video intended for educational purposes. Indiblu Design Group worked closely with Sarah McLachlan’s representative at Nettwerk to arrange for rights and use of her single “Home” as the music accompanying the images. She graciously donated the use of her music to support Monarch and awareness of the people it serves.
Evans shares, “This is just the beginning. The executive team at Monarch is committed to creating awareness not only for their organization, but for everyone in need of these types of services – individuals and their families. We are working on various projects to get the word out.”
Indiblu Design Group is a full-service creative firm in Charlotte, N.C. that specializes in branding, print, design, and marketing for nonprofits, educational institutions, and healthcare organizations. To learn more about how Indiblu is creative with a cause, please call (704) 587-3625 or check us out online at www.indibludesign.com.
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