The Kelsey

Building Opportunity Through Inclusivity

The Kelsey is a pioneering non-profit that centers on the lived experience of people with disabilities and the creation of inclusive and affordable multifamily housing.

Garnering the attention and support of organizations such as Google Ventures and Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the organization is currently advancing a housing pipeline worth over $180 million, beginning with the building of more than 240 affordable, accessible homes in one of the nation’s most challenging housing markets, California. Through the application of design thinking related to social change and in partnership with community leaders, investors, developers, and policymakers, the team has created a nationally scalable blueprint for success.

To signal the organization’s highly inclusive approach and strong partnerships, showcase progress, and engage new partners emotionally and beautifully, The Kelsey’s CEO, Micaela Connery, approached Landscape to rethink the organization’s brand and key touchpoints.

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Centered around a purpose of ‘building opportunity through inclusivity,’ the new brand grounds The Kelsey’s work in the creation of opportunity that benefits people of all backgrounds, including people with disabilities. It reinforces the drive, attention to detail, scale and seriousness of the organization’s work. It positions The Kelsey as an innovative and credible organization that brings together diverse communities, funders, and policymakers for positive change.

Messaging has been tailored to insights pertaining to distinct audience groups and engages them with clear value propositions and calls to action. The new visual system reinforces The Kelsey’s inclusive grounding via custom illustrations, accessible typefaces, and a color palette based on skin tones, each supporting a break from stereotypes and making their important cause actionable to a more broad audience.

Designing for inclusivity also meant creating the brand and website for — and with people who have disabilities. Our team worked with disability advocates and external experts to ensure that the site design and language would be as accessible as possible to people with a range of disabilities.

“Our new identity reinforces The Kelsey’s mission to advance disability-forward, innovative, thoughtfully designed housing solutions. It now reflects all the impactful work underway at The Kelsey, the community that we serve, and the growth that we’ve experienced since our launch in 2018. Landscape dug into our mission, examined our impact to date, and talked to all our partners and allies to design a brand that reflects where we are today and where we’re going in the future.”

Micaela Connery, Co-founder and CEO of The Kelsey

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