ACF Brand Guide.
This is the actual brand guide we built for Advancing Communities Forward after they completed the intake form. It became the north-star document for the entire site build. Lightly edited for the public version.
Why this exists. A brand guide is the bridge between "client filled out the form" and "site is being built." Everything you need to make consistent design decisions lives on one document: colors, fonts, voice, do's and don'ts, page list, integrations.
If you ever feel stuck during the build, this is the doc you come back to.
Who is ACF.
Advancing Communities Forward Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded to support foster youth ages 18 to 21 who have aged out of the foster care system. These youth face disproportionate challenges including housing instability, joblessness, academic difficulties, early parenthood, and substance use.
Mission
To empower foster youth ages 18 to 21 by providing safe, supportive transitional housing and the essential life skills needed to thrive independently.
What they do
Transitional housing placement program providing supervised housing, case management, life skills training, financial literacy, and wraparound support services. The goal is to equip youth with the tools, confidence, and stability needed to build self-sufficient, successful, and sustainable lives.
| Legal name | Advancing Communities Forward Inc. |
| Tax status | 501(c)(3) nonprofit |
| Location | Sacramento, CA — serving Sacramento and the Bay Area |
| Founders | Nicole Roeseler, Cordis Webb |
| Domain | advancingcommunitiesforward.com |
| @advancingcommunitiesforward |
The visual system.
Logo
Three stylized figures (blue, orange, pink) holding hands beneath a protective blue arc with radiating orange sunburst rays. The figures represent the youth ACF serves, unity, and community. The arc symbolizes shelter, protection, and a bright future ahead.
Two versions: a horizontal lockup (default for headers and wide placements) and a stacked vertical (for square placements like social profiles, favicons, and mobile headers).
Logo rules — do
- Maintain clear space around the logo equal to the height of one figure
- Place the full-color logo on white or warm cream backgrounds
- Minimum size: 1.5 inches wide horizontal, 1 inch wide stacked
Logo rules — don't
- Stretch, skew, rotate, or alter the logo proportions
- Change the logo colors outside of approved one-color variations
- Place the full-color logo on busy or dark photo backgrounds without a white container
Warm, vibrant, optimistic.
The three primary colors correspond directly to the three figures in the logo.
Primary
Supporting
Modern, friendly, readable.
All recommended fonts are free via Google Fonts.
| Headings | Plus Jakarta Sans — Bold weight. Modern, friendly, rounded. |
| Body | DM Sans — Regular and Medium. Highly readable at all sizes. |
| Alternate | Inter — Semi-Bold. Strong fallback option. |
Like a supportive mentor.
Voice attributes
- Warm and caring — write like a supportive mentor, not a corporate institution
- Empowering — focus on strength, potential, and forward momentum
- Modern and approachable — clear, jargon-free, and direct
- Trustworthy — transparent, honest, and grounded
- Energetic — optimistic without being performative
Perspective
First-person plural ("we / our team") to create a sense of community and shared purpose.
Desired emotional response
Visitors should feel: Excited, Trusting, Inspired, Energetic, Safe.
Tagline
"Advocating for the youth that need us."
The pages and the work to build them.
Goals
- Educate visitors about who ACF is and what they do
- Showcase the org to potential donors and partners
- Accept online donations via Stripe
- Build partnerships with companies and community organizations
- Provide a professional home base that builds credibility
Site pages and structure
Home
- Hero with mission statement and a strong donate CTA
- Brief "who we are" intro with supporting imagery
- Impact stats or key facts about foster youth aging out
- Upcoming event callout (fundraiser)
- Donation CTA and email signup
About
- Full mission and vision statements
- The problem ACF solves: the foster care aging-out gap
- What ACF provides: housing, case management, life skills, financial literacy
- Founder bios: Nicole Roeseler and Cordis Webb
Gallery / Impact
- Photo and video gallery of events and community work
- Impact metrics and testimonials
- Fundraiser recaps and highlights
Contact
- Contact form (name, email, message)
- Phone, email, and Instagram link
Key features and integrations
| Donations | Stripe Checkout integration |
| Event tickets | Stripe Checkout — Adults $85, Kids under 12 $40 |
| Email signup | Newsletter / mailing list form |
| Social | Instagram link or embed |
| Responsive | Fully responsive for mobile and desktop |
Content the client owes
- Founder bios and professional headshots
- High-resolution photos for gallery (events, community, team)
- Impact data or statistics to feature
- Stripe Checkout links for donations and tickets
- Approved mission and vision copy (or approval to write from intake responses)
- Any video content for embedding
Budget, timeline, communication.
| Budget | $2,500 to $3,250 |
| Primary contact | Nicole Roeseler |
| Communication | |
| Response time | 24 to 48 hours |
| Domain | advancingcommunitiesforward.com (client-owned) |
| Initial platform recommendation | Squarespace (later moved to a static site on Netlify) |
Note on platform. Squarespace was the original recommendation based on budget and ease of client handoff. During the build, we moved to a custom static site hosted on Netlify because the design we wanted required animation and layout flexibility Squarespace couldn't deliver cleanly. The price point stayed the same. You'll see this kind of decision a lot in real client work.