Raven Foundation Brand Guide

BRAND LANGUAGE
PRESENTATION
2 0 1 9

OUR
Values
01.
02.
03.
PAUSE
To begin stepping back from the cycle of senseless action, each person
must understand and embrace their inner landscape. The home
we create allows people to slow down. When they have the space
to take a breath, they can see the way desire, imitation, and conflict
operate in their lives and in the world.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY
We take responsibility for our role in creating or sustaining unhealthy
systems. This is not about letting shame paralyze us; it’s about exercising
hope and seeing the possibility for personal and communal
healing. When we hold ourselves accountable to our past actions, we
can find better models and institute a better future.
FORGIVE AND RESTORE
After seeing the rifts in our hearts, families, and communities, and
seeing the role we play, we are able to restore wholeness through
vulnerability. Forgiving ourselves restores our sense of identity. Forgiving
others heals strained relationships. As we practice this process,
we are more able to spot and dissolve conflict.
04.
05.
06.
PRACTICE AUTHENTIC HOSPITALITY
Our home is a place where people can be totally themselves: with
their doubts, fears, eccentricities, and ideas. These differences,
instead of creating rivalry, unfold into exciting conversations and dynamic
diversity. We respect one another and honor everyone’s place
along the journey. We work for deep inclusion, breaking the scapegoating
cycle by uplifting each individual’s unique dignity.
SPEAK INTO REAL LIFE
To us, René Girard’s mimetic theory is more than a thought experiment;
it’s a relevant and engaging way to live. We bring this philosophy
into real life by highlighting its intersection with the areas our
community cares about. From religion and politics to relationships
and parenting, we reveal the mechanisms underneath our daily lives
and draw from our own experiences to authentically apply these
ideas.
INITIATE PEACE
Ultimately, we believe that this process of internal and communal
transformation can and will transform the world. We empower our
community to undo the cycle of violence, first within their own
hearts and relationships, and then in society as a whole. We will work
tirelessly to calm fears, settle the frenzy of conflict, and allow peace
to define our world.

We host a home for
our
WHY
wounded seekers so they
can step back from senselessness,
step into a restorative
community, and step
up to create lasting peace.
RAVEN FOUNDATION
02.

VISUAL DIRECTION
“Mature, playful, and powerful. Approachable
and energetic, yet intelligent
and gripping.”
BOLD MIMESIS
The Raven Foundation brand marries the
conflict of juxtaposed shapes and colors with a
softness and depth that underscores the abundant
life that comes from peace.
The brand language utilizes powerful imagery
and bright color to express contrast and complementarity,
two concepts that visually express
mimetic theory.
To unite the elements and keep the brand mature
and classic, grid based layouts will be utilized.
Dynamic hand painted watercolors give
the brand gradient, movement, and a human
touch. Classic, understated type leaves space
for breath and pause in the design.
RAVEN FOUNDATION
05.

RAVEN FOUNDATION
07.

RAVEN FOUNDATION
09.

THE RAVEN
“Previously an ominous image in
our culture... now redefined.”
It is a bird that for us stands as an image of the
scapegoat. Though one of the most intelligent
and communal of birds, its strangeness and
dark color tend to inspire a sense of foreboding
in us.
But the Raven in this image carries with it an olive
branch, a symbol usually seen with the dove,
a bird that has come to symbolize peace. In juxtaposing
these seemingly conflicting symbols,
we see the heart of mimetic theory: embracing
the other is what brings peace.
RAVEN FOUNDATION
11.

AVOID THESE
USING THE RAVEN
THESE ARE NOT RULES TO OBEY –
BUT TO PLAY BY
The Raven represents our brand. As such, it should be
treated with respect and high regard. Avoid situations
as outlined on page 13. Think of these as guides that
help create a space to play.
SUCCESSFUL USE
Vibrating Colors
Colors on dark backgrounds
Non-textured, multicolored bacgkrounds
Energetic texture, vibrant color, and supporting elements
like the olive branch are key when displaying
the logo. Here are a few examples of successful use
of the logo.
Presented by the:
Texture box as border element
Light logo on dark texture
Outlining the logo
Stretching the logo
Using the logo in a sentence
RAVEN FOUNDATION
Colors that are too close in value
Effects like gradients and shadows
Rotating the logo
Dark logo on light texture
Overlapping textures/elements
13.

BRAND MOTIFS
The olive branch; a symbol usually seen
with the dove, now carried by a raven
that has come to symbolize peace.
The olive branch may be used in its more
natural form as a brand motif for large
form overlays over images or blocks of
color. The more stylized olive branch is
to be used in small form in conjunction
with text or the wordmark to give page
design greater brand identification.
RAVEN FOUNDATION
15.

COLOR
OUR PHILOSOPHY, VISUALIZED
BRAND PALETTE
To us, peace is not bland emptiness – it is
creative energy. The brand pallette is meant
to visually express this concept, as well as to
provide a way to dynamically contrast each
design motif, image text, or color block with
each other on a page.
Raven
Scapegoat
Mercy
Desire
Peace
HEX: #0000
90% Tint
HEX: #1b4552
RGB: 27 69 82
CMYK: 90 62 50 37
PMS: 7477 C
HEX: #f4e9dd
RGB: 244 233 221
CMYK: 3 7 11 0
PMS: 663 C
HEX: #1b4552
RGB: 237 25 37
CMYK: 0 100 73 0
PMS: 7788 C
HEX: #1b4552
RGB: 27 69 82
CMYK: 90 62 50 37
PMS: 7477 C
RAVEN FOUNDATION
15.

RAVEN FOUNDATION
21.
Typography
OUR WHY
“Silence is the pause in me
when I am near to God.”
We host a home so you can step
back from senselessness, step into a
restorative community, and step up
to create lasting peace.
OUR WHY
Begin stepping back from the cycle of senseless action,
each person must understand and embrace their
inner landscape. The home we create allows people
to slow down. When they have the space to take a
breath, they can see the way desire, imitation, and
conflict operate in their lives and in the world.
“ LOREM IPSUM SMALL QUOTES”
01. 02.
01. 02. 03. 04. 05.
06. 07. 08. 09. 10.
Header 1
FreightBig Pro Black, 60pt – special/large titles
HEADER 2
Brandon Grotesque Medium, 26pt – Chapter/Article Titles
HEADER 3
FreightDsp Pro Light Italic, 22pt – large quotations
Paragraph 1
FreightDsp Pro Bold, 19pt – body copy call outs
HEADER 4
Brandon Grotesque Bold, 15pt – titles for body copy
Paragraph 2
FreightText Pro Book, 9pt – body copy
HEADER 5
Brandon Grotesque Light, 9pt – small quotations
Numeral 1
FreightBigPro Semibold Italic, 65pt – large numerals
Numeral 2
FreightBigPro Semibold Italic, 20pt – small numerals

THE RAVEN
REVIEW
Religion – by Lindsey Paris-Lopez
April 27, 2019
The
Blessing
of
Doubt
To doubt what others seem
to take for granted can be
unnerving, like walking
on shaky ground.
The Incredulity of St. Thomas,
1602-03, Caravaggio

“Silence is the pause in me
when I am near to God.”
01.
THE BLESSING
OF DOUBT
A WELL-DISGUISED
BLESSING
Doubt doesn’t always feel like a blessing. Questioning
faith, questioning tradition, questioning the perspective
and understanding of those around you, especially those
who seem to have it all together, who seem so confident
in their words and actions… this can be scary and
gut-wrenching.
To doubt what others seem to take for granted can be
unnerving, like walking on shaky ground that could give
way any second..
I have already shared how the story of “Doubting Thomas”
once made me feel small, lost, and alone. As a child
who struggled with her faith but loved her church, I
found it hard to voice my doubts. I know I asked questions
and took genuine interest in the stories. But the
nagging feeling that perhaps this was all wrong, that I
really could not wrap my head around a Triune God who
died and rose for the sake of love but would eternally
burn those who failed to accept this baffling premise…
that feeling lingered like a weight on my chest.
People in the church, including my mother and grandmother
and pastors and friends I dearly loved, reinforced
the love of this God who sets the captives free, who
guides us by still waters and bids us to lie down in green
pastures and restores our souls.
This God who so loved us as to be born human, heal
the sick, feed the hungry, embrace the lepers and sinners,
and welcome the children… this was the God I
was taught to believe in as Creator and Sustainer of all.
But this was also the God who, according to scripture,
destroyed the world in a flood, killed firstborn sons of
Egypt, and ordered the deaths of entire peoples to make
room for others or as punishment for infractions or disbelief.
This was that God my father rejected.
I wonder if Thomas felt small, lost, and alone as well.
He was away from the others when Jesus first appeared.
The disciples were huddled away in fear, but Thomas
wasn’t with them. Did he have his own sorrows and anxieties
that made him want to retreat from his friends?
Was he trying to put on a brave face and get back to his
life? Did he feel that his mission was over, that his years
of dedication to Jesus for a purpose he must not have
understood as well as he thought he did had all come to
nothing?
The Incredulity of St. Thomas,
1602-03, Caravaggio
I was a “Doubting Thomas,”
neither rejecting nor
affirming… just wondering,
questioning, trying to make
sense of it all... I felt small,
lost, and alone.

BRAND BY
Sherwood Fellows
www.sherwoodfellows.com