No Kid Hungry’s yearly summer campaign drives both funding and awareness for free meal sites across the United States. Free meals provided by school districts–available to any child 18 or under living in that community–help relieve the monetary strain that millions of families face each year when school is out and free school meals are missed. In 2022, I was afforded the opportunity to fully redesign the look and feel of this campaign for the next three summers.

2022 was also the pilot year for an expansion of the standard Share Summer campaign through a partnership with WhatsApp, to reach more families in Hispanic and immigrant communities. The collaboration necessitated all assets be translated in English and Spanish, and reformatted accordingly.

The bulk of my design process focused on increasing legibility. Summer campaign graphics appear on posters, banners, billboards, television, email, and social media. They are circulated by the No Kid Hungry campaign, corporate and programmatic partners, and schools and community centers that offer the free meal services. The designs need a consistent visual structure that allows both the creative space to keep the many assets entertaining, as well as provide straightforward, legible information.

For the second iteration, I focused on brand cohesion to the Loo & Feel of the summer campaign; how to visually tie together the text, imagery, and color palette.

For visual interest, I incorporated a selection of food icons  from the suite I previously designed for No Kid Hungry. Mimicking the stylized thin black outline of these icons across the typeface, the final look came together–jovial, kid-friendly, and clear. 

Aiming to increase both attention and attendance to these meal sites, I designed a bright, colorful campaign that would feel reminiscent of the possibilities of free summer meals, not of the strain of resource inadequacy. Contrasting colors and bright iconography, along with customizable assets for community meal providers, and expanded language accessibility, helped bring together what became the widest-reaching* summer campaign to date for No Kid Hungry. 

In the development of the new look and feel, I started with color pairings. I leaned in to high chroma, warmth, and simplicity, to harness the feeling of what summer should be to kids–a time of possibility and fun. To capture the attention of kids in community spaces, I created 4 high-contrast color pairings from the No Kid Hungry brand palette. 

The 2022 Share Summer campaign was the most successful summer campaign in No Kid Hungry’s history,* and was regarded by programmatic partners as some of the most well-loved assets in years.