Kappa Delta

Honoring 125 Years of Sisterhood

Four women walking toward, looking at each other, and smiling

Kappa Delta Sorority has connected confident, action-oriented women for more than 125 years across 168 colleges and universities. 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.

Services

Brand Strategy, Brand Messaging, Logo Design, Visual Identity, Marketing Collateral, Web Strategy, Web Design, Web Development

Problem

Kappa Delta needed to help support individual chapter recruitment efforts by bolstering their brand nationally. The website had to be simplified in order to help alumnae stay connected to the organization while simultaneously appealing to prospective new members.

Our Approach

We designed a brand that better reflected the vibrant sisterhood that Kappa Delta provides for its members across all arms of their organization. On the web, we restructured content to boost engagement and better represent the community that KD becomes for its members.

01

Discovering Kappa Delta

Kappa Delta conducted extensive brand strategy research before approaching our team. We dove into their insights, data, and analyses and drew together key objectives to address with a rebrand.

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Embodying the spirit and values of the Kappa Delta woman

Over time, the brand had become outdated. It was no longer accurately reflecting KD’s changing demographics and institutional architecture, and was difficult to apply throughout marketing materials. It also needed to reflect what makes a Kappa Delta woman: someone who is in a continual pursuit of learning and growth throughout her life, and who is actively building a future for herself and her community.

Kappa Delta education branded image with a shape
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Preserving tradition while embracing progress

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 education branded image with badge graphic

Emphasizing a Lifelong Sisterhood

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 education branded image with 125 anniversary badge
02

An Evolved Brand Identity

Drawing from key research findings, we designed a new brand identity for Kappa Delta. With the brand architecture and marketing team in mind, we created an extensive catalog of brand elements, guidelines, and assets that are easy to understand and apply for any occasion. The new visual identity, paired with a refreshed yet established brand definition, charted the path forward for an evolved Kappa Delta.

The Nautilus Shell Logo

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.

Kappa Delta education branded image with white logo
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Light and airy graphic elements

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.

Kappa Delta education airy graphic elements
Kappa Delta education nine patterns
Kappa Delta education primary typeface

01

GT Super Display

Primary typeface with simplicity and traditional aesthetic gives the brand a timeless feeling.

Kappa Delta education secondary typeface

02

Apercu

Secondary typeface, with realist proportions and cheerful slants and angles, reflects Kappa Delta's blend of tradition and modernity.

Kappa Delta education tertiary typeface

03

Tropical Summer Signature

Tertiary typeface with a handwritten feeling that adds a sense of renewed energy and fluidity to the brand.

Kappa Delta education color palette

A Branded House

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.

Kappa Delta education logo variants
Kappa Delta education brand style guide in a mockup
Kappa Delta education 125 anniversary flyer
Kappa Delta education badges
03

A Sound UX Strategy

Kappa Delta’s website serves two main audiences: collegians and alumnae. These audiences have very different perspectives and engage differently with Kappa Delta. Designing a website that appeals to both groups begins with a user experience strategy that considers users’ goals and pain points.

Kappa Delta education responsive web design - random pages in device mockups with airy graphics in the background

A Researched Approach

To learn more about their users’ goals and pain points, we conducted audience surveys, user testing, and a competitive analysis.

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Differing Identities

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.

A woman is holding a microphone and smiling
Kappa Delta education circle stamp
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Similar Goals

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.

Four women smiling at the camera, while hugging
Kappa Delta education rose stamp

A Contextualized Site Architecture

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.

04

Designing the Web Experience

The brand we built for Kappa Delta became the foundation from which we designed the website. The visual direction of the new web design is fresh and energetic without alienating alumnae who deeply value the traditions and legacy of the sorority.

Kappa Delta education responsive web design - homepage in tablet
Two women sitting next to each other, smiling

Storytelling at its Finest

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.

Kappa Delta education responsive web design - life as kappa page in tablet
Kappa Delta education responsive web design - stories page in mobile

A Simple, Yet Effective Web Development

We recommended an overall approach to technology that focused on a user-centric experience while taking special care to remain simple, concise, and user friendly. Built on the WordPress platform, the website is quick to load, seamless on mobile, and full of subtle animations that bring a sense of fun and energy to the experience.

05

Annual Conference Awards

Kappa Delta won 12 out of 26 awards at the 2023 Fraternity Communications Association’s Annual Conference.

01

Total Communication: 3rd Place, “Sisterhood, Community and Confidence: Celebrating 125 Years of Kappa Delta” campaign

This award honors the best communications program by an organization directed to members and/or an outside audience for a single purpose, such as a membership campaign, convention, or other. Entries should display the program’s creativity in writing and design and its ability to effectively communicate the message to the intended audience.

02

Blog: 1st Place, The Emerald Edit

This award honors the outstanding presentation of a blog managed by headquarters staff. The blog may be general to the organization, related to a specific topic, or presented for a limited audience. Entries should be well designed and easy to navigate with engaging content for their intended reader.

03

Website Improvement: 1st Place, kappadelta.org

This award honors outstanding efforts to improve an organization’s main website. The website must have undergone significant change during the judging timeframe of the 2021 calendar year. Entries should display excellence in overall content, design, creativity and navigation.

04

Video Presentation – Short: 3rd Place, A Refreshed Look for Kappa Delta

This award honors outstanding efforts in video production. Entries should be no longer than three minutes in total length. Presentations can be on any topic and should demonstrate creativity, originality, and inventiveness.

05

Digital Newsletter: 1st Place, Collegiate Confidante

This award honors outstanding efforts in communication through a digital newsletter—an online publication or email that gives specialized information to a limited audience. Entries should display excellence in overall content, design, creativity, and organization.

06

Excellence in Digital Integrated Marketing: 1st Place, “Sisterhood, Community and Confidence: Celebrating 125 Years of Kappa Delta” campaign.

This category judges one specific campaign managed by the headquarters staff or volunteers.

Working with Push10 was a 10/10 experience. We did a full rebrand and website redesign with Push10. Their project management is extremely organized, their design team is creative and strategic, and the web development team was top-notch. I’m so happy with the work they delivered to us. I’d use them again in a heart beat!

Kappa Delta

Ashley Brown, Director of Marketing and Communications

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