Kappa Delta Sorority has connected confident, action-oriented women for more than 125 years across 168 colleges and universities. Over time, the Kappa Delta brand became outdated. It didn’t accurately reflect their changing demographics and institutional architecture, and it was difficult to apply to their marketing materials. The leadership team at Kappa Delta came to Push10 to revitalize the brand by introducing a new visual identity and web design to better represent the century-long legacy and their vision for the future.
To know where to take the Kappa Delta brand, we needed to understand their past and how that has shaped their future.
The resulting strategy became the foundation for a successful identity redesign.
A new web design introduced the new Kappa Delta brand to the world.
From the start, our rebrand needed to reflect what makes a Kappa Delta woman: someone who is in a continual pursuit of learning and growth throughout her life, who is actively building a future for herself and her community.
As a 125-year-old institution, it was important that this rebrand honor and preserve the sorority’s legacy while also embracing the progress and changes it has made.
Kappa Delta’s research showed the most valuable motivator for joining their sorority is the life-long friendships one builds. The brand refresh needed to emphasize relationship-building above all else.
Kappa Delta operates a variety of sub brands, but they weren’t a cohesive family. The brand needed to be consistent and flexible enough to represent all sub brands as a Kappa Delta operation.
In our research, we found that the ancient symbol of a nautilus stands for growth, expansion, and renewal – plus, the Sorority had a long history with this symbol.
Soft, airy, energized, refined, and feminine: five adjectives that informed our development of a graphic element library, including graphics for the Sorority’s 125-year anniversary and Giving Tuesday.
We chose a modern combination of serif, sans serif, and script typefaces to simultaneously communicate the legacy of Kappa Delta while giving a nod to its ever-evolving network of sisters.
GT Super Display’s simplicity and traditional aesthetic gives the brand a timeless feeling.
Apercu is a modern take on classic sans serif typefaces. Its realist proportions with cheery slants and angles is a nod to Kappa Delta’s melding of the old and the new.
Tropical Summer Signature is a fun and youthful script typeface. Its handwritten feel adds a sense of renewed energy and fluidity to the brand.
Kappa Delta operates multiple sub brands including a foundation, a shop, and a real estate management group. To unify the brands as one family, we created logos, colors, and assets for each.
As one of the main objectives of the brand refresh was to create elements that can be easily used across chapters for marketing purposes, we designed a 51-page brand guide filled with instructions on how to use the new visual elements, write in a consistent voice and tone, and create consistent marketing and campaign collateral.
To learn more about their users’ goals and pain points, we conducted audience surveys, user testing, and a competitive analysis.
Our research found that collegians and alumnae see themselves differently. While collegians identify more as “sisters,” the alumnae prefer to be referred to as “alumnae.” This finding influenced the structure of our navigation.
We found that both audiences value similar content and are looking to take the same actions on the site. Alumnae are more likely to be looking for connection points through the blog, member stories, or through events. Collegians are more likely to be looking for contact information.
Based on our research, we structured the website in a way that: (1) helps alumnae discover relevant content and stay connected, (2) keeps the most valuable content front and center, and (3) highlights opportunities for action.
The main motivator for joining Kappa Delta is the opportunity to join a lifelong sisterhood. Therefore, we prioritized storytelling within our design and content structure.
