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Rebranding Muslim Women’s Coalition for a Broader Impact
Muslim Women’s Coalition grew from a local nonprofit to a dynamic organization with statewide reach, prompting strategic changes to sharpen their focus on empowering Muslim women and girls. They sought a brand and website that would capture their professionalism and multifaceted mission.
Muslim Women’s Coalition (MWC) began as a small local non-profit organization in Milwaukee, focused on leading positive change by providing resources to educate the public about Islam. Over the years, MWC grew to a multifaceted organization with numerous initiatives including a resource center, a film festival, mental health programs, domestic abuse services, and a media platform–all focused on the Muslim community.
However, their over simplistic messaging and branding belied their professionalism and reach into the community. At the same time, the organization was undergoing significant strategic changes, including redefining their mission, vision and goals to focus more sharply on empowering women and girls. This shift also expanded their reach state-wide and nationally, leading to a rebrand from Milwaukee Muslim Women’s Coalition (MMWC) to Muslim Women’s Coalition (MWC).
Identifying and Understanding the Audience
Our process started with an in depth audience discovery to gain an understanding of the audience base and their goals.
We identified 13 distinct audience types:
- Donors
- Muslim Families & Muslim Residents (not in org)
- Prospective Donors
- Educational Institutions (Grade school - college)
- Religious Organizations (Churches, Synagogues, etc)
- New Muslim Residents
- Professional Establishments (Healthcare, Law Enforcement, Corporations)
- Students
- Film Festival Fans or Arts Community
- Volunteers
- Current, Alumni or Future Board of Directors
- Job Candidates
- Press/Media
These visitors' primary goals focus on discovering and understanding MWC as an organization, along with its offerings and resources. Visitors want to learn about MWC’s mission, goals, and achievements, while accessing resources to support advocacy, education, and awareness of Milwaukee’s Muslim community. They aim to find engaging, shareable content for storytelling, donor engagement, and dispelling misconceptions about Islam. Additionally, site visitors want to explore event details, lending library resources, and ways to connect with the organization, such as finding contact information or location details. Many also are looking for opportunities to contribute, whether through donations or by sharing empowering stories of Muslim women and girls.
Finding Brand Alignment Through Creative Direction
To solve MWC's overly simplistic branding and messaging, we worked deeply with their team to develop a fully unique and multi-messaged brand and website that was in alignment with their updated strategic plan: building an equitable public sphere for Muslim women and girls.
We did this by developing several identity concepts with distinct messaging and visual strategies.
Once we had a good sense of design strategy, we began exploring logos.
Website Messaging
With a directional sense of messaging and visual strategy, we dove deeper into the world of language working closely with MWC to develop a framework focused on illustrating the full extent of their impact. This would define the main navigation system and how the site content is organized.
- Owning Our Narrative: Reflecting MWC's role in shaping the stories of Muslim women and their communities
- Educating Our Neighbors: Showcasing MWC’s educational initiatives
- Empowering Our Families: Emphasizing family-focused services and support
- Understanding Islam: Providing resources and content to educate others on Islam's teachings
By focusing on a theme, we developed a more coherent structure that allows site visitors to explore MWC’s diverse programs, all while reinforcing the organization’s mission.
The new messaging and content strategy offered an engaging and user-friendly experience, carefully structured to reflect the wide range of MWC's initiatives while maintaining clarity and ease of navigation. The improved information architecture highlights MWC’s key impact areas—such as education, advocacy, and community building—allowing people to explore diverse initiatives effortlessly and navigate towards the resources and stories most relevant to their needs.
With brand strategy defined, we began exploring logos to visually communicate the brand.
Logo Design
The reimagined logo needed to reflect MWC’s commitment to women and girls while maintaining a connection to its roots.
The final logo design features a dynamic and modern emphasis on the letter "W" to symbolize the organization's dedication to empowering women. We preserved the "C" mark from the original logo, which featured a female figure framed by a crescent moon—a symbol associated with Islam. This subtle element honors MWC’s cultural heritage while embracing their forward-looking advocacy. The combination of the "W" and "C" creates a harmonious balance between tradition and evolution, symbolizing MWC's dual focus on cultural roots and strategic growth. The dynamic energy of the new logo was carried through the website design, further amplifying MWC’s vitality coupled with strategic forward messaging.
Site Design
Home Page
When designing the homepage, we approached it as a springboard that highlights the breadth and depth of the organization’s offerings. For MWC, this meant showcasing its diverse programs, lending library, and community events in a way that strikes the right balance of content density, order, and hierarchy to effectively engage visitors.
Secondary & Tertiary Level Page Designs
Next, we designed deeper-level pages with a systematic approach to accommodate diverse content needs. Usability was a top priority, ensuring visitors always understand their location on the site and can seamlessly navigate to explore related or deeper content. To achieve this, we implemented a contextual navigation system that guides users through detailed sections while maintaining a clear sense of orientation. Additionally, we introduced "buckets" to present alternative pathways, encouraging broader exploration across the site.
We established a clear visual hierarchy between secondary and tertiary pages through intentional layout choices. Secondary pages carry more visual weight, featuring larger images and an editorial-style layout to draw attention. In contrast, tertiary pages are designed with a more streamlined design.
Conclusion
Our process-driven, collaborative approach enabled us to form a true partnership with MWC, working together to reimagine their brand identity and digital presence. By deeply understanding their evolving mission, we were able to craft a visual identity that honors MWC’s cultural heritage while embracing its forward-thinking advocacy.
The result is a dynamic, modern brand that not only amplifies MWC’s focus on empowering Muslim women and girls but also reflects the professionalism and scope of their impact. Together, we created a website and logo that mirror the organization’s multifaceted nature, ensuring that MWC’s mission, vision, and initiatives are clearly communicated to its audience.
This partnership exemplifies how, when we work closely with our clients, we can create transformative designs that propel their goals forward. The success of MWC’s rebranding marks a significant step for their future as an impactful nonprofit, and we are proud to have contributed to their continued growth and success.