The Garrison Institute

Building a More Compassionate and Resilient Future

Garrison institute team circle at retreat center in new york

The Garrison Institute has a strong reputation as a physical retreat center and hub of contemplative practices. Looking to expand their reach, the Institute approached Push10 to enhance and refresh their brand to help them build a more compassionate and resilient future.

Services

Brand Strategy, Brand Messaging, Visual Identity, Marketing Collateral

Problem

The Garrison Institute was at a turning point. Known for their deep impact in personal and societal transformation, they wanted to shift focus from individual audiences (B2C) to organizational partnerships (B2B). But their existing brand didn’t quite resonate with this new direction.

Our Approach

We began by defining Garrison’s unique purpose through collaborative workshops, crafting a brand positioning framework tailored to their B2B audience. From there, we developed clear messaging, a modern visual identity, and comprehensive brand guidelines to ensure a consistent and credible presence.

01

Getting a
 360° view

Our team began by auditing the existing Garrison Institute brand and website. From there, we outlined a comprehensive research plan that included creative workshops, audience surveys, and interviews with nearly thirty internal and external stakeholders. Together, these research tactics provided us with a 360° view of the Garrison brand.

Garrison institute brand design research report
garrison-institutes-core-brand-message@2x
garrison-institute-location-photography@2x

Establishing a Core Message

Equipped with the insights from our research, we recommended a core brand message that connects all of Garrison’s audiences. Our team also created an exhaustive brand messaging playbook that contains practical guidelines for communicating across Garrison’s various audiences. The playbook outlines audience-specific messaging, proof points, and tips for writing on behalf of the Garrison Institute brand.

Mockup of Garrison Institute brand book with core brand message
Garrison institute retreat center building in New York
Garrison Institute messaging playbook print design
02

From Contemplation to Implementation

The Garrison Institute’s mission is about more than mindfulness. It’s also about positive action. We began our visual brand exploration by examining a wide range of themes that brought the interconnected, inviting, and sophisticated brand voice to life.

Garrison nonprofit creative iterations

Core Values

01

Interconnected

Our teaching, practice, and mission are connected to ancient wisdom and to the natural world around us. We are a bridge connecting modern society to beneficial contemplative practices of breath and body, of mindfulness and compassion, of emotional wisdom and interconnection.

02

Inviting

We are a community of change-makers. We put our mission into action by encouraging personal and societal transformation. We’re building the future we want to see, together.t

03

Sophisticated

We are a serious institute with a deep understanding of contemplative practices.
Our approach is researched, studied, and considered. We are deeply committed to our work.

garrison Institute retreat center campus meditation room
garrison institute retreat center outdoor grounds of the campus

A Brand Built From Natural Patterns

Our exploration led us to a new approach that uses graphic elements inspired by the golden ratio to create structure, balance, and purpose. In addition, a continuous line treatment creates unique thematic connections between different image types.

garrison institute brand design visual mockups

Ancient wisdom for modern layouts

The golden ratio grid is a practical layout tool that illustrates the intersection—and harmony between—humanity and the natural world. Individual shapes from the golden ratio grid can also be used as unique, stand-alone graphic elements. This thoughtful approach allows Garrison Institute team members to create endless new graphics while maintaining a shared visual foundation.

Garrison nonprofit modern layout
A nautillus on a dark gray background
Garrison nonprofit collateral cover design
Garrison nonprofit secondary typeface

01

Editor

Versatile serif that combines contemporary elegance with readability, making it ideal for both print and digital editorial content.

Garrison nonprofit primary typeface

02

Larsseit

Clean, modern sans-serif with the minimalist design and versatile use in both digital and print.

Blue

#1d80bd

Light blue

#a9cfe3

Red

#cd0f35

Orange

#f96730

Yellow

#feb331

Green

#159576

Deep green

#054845

Garrison nonprofit brand guide
04

Applying the
 new brand

Launching a new brand is a big deal. To help the Garrison team successfully introduce their new brand to the world, we created an arsenal of branded marketing assets, such as social media post templates, postcards, and a brochure cover.

Garrison nonprofit conceptual flyer design
Garrison nonprofit conceptual mobile design
Garrison nonprofit post card designs
Garrison nonprofit event banner mockup

Learning about contemplative based resilience was enthralling. Our team couldn't be prouder of the result of our extensive research and immersive engagement with the Garrison team.

Push10

Sabrina Pfautz, Partner + Creative Director