Case Studies
Since Empax was founded in 2004, we’ve engaged a wide variety of issues and organizations. Our case studies show representative challenges we took on, and how we effectively and efficiently solved them.
The community in Hunts Point – the poorest zip code east of the Mississippi River – knows about being dealt a tough hand. The impoverished individuals of Hunts Point needed a leader to help them see that a brighter tomorrow is within their grasp. The Hunts Point Alliance for Children (HPAC) had been steadily gaining ground within the community for years, but now wanted to show that their dedication to bettering Hunts Point was deep, serious and “ready for prime time”. How could they communicate with kids, adults, donors and other local nonprofits all at once while maintaining razor-sharp focus?
Joshua Venture Group, a seed fund for innovative Jewish social ventures, was preparing for a reentry into the nonprofit world after a 3 year-long hiatus when they came to Empax. Coming back with a revitalized vision and new leadership required a completely new identity, while reminding their public of their former iteration. Empax was tasked with helping the organization reformulate itself while remaining memorable to its original adherents.
Empax has developed a novel strategy for branding environmental issues. President Shimon Peres of Israel heard about our work and asked us for a portal that would enable him, as President, to connect to the Israeli public on environmental issues in a strong, innovative and meaningful way.
The Culture Project, an off-Broadway, not-for-profit theater, asked us to create a powerful and memorable brand for a festival of political theater, music, dance and film called the Impact Festival. The festival brand had to have its own strong voice while working well with all the Festival’s shows; all this on a limited budget.
The mission of Vice President Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection is to urge people to adopt behaviors that can help solve the climate crisis. The Alliance’s website contains hundreds of tips on everyday actions people can take. How would site users know where to look first? How would the site keep them engaged and become “viral”?
Laura Faludi, a former production manager for the Gap group of companies founded a new organization that ranks clothing and other textile products based on their environmental and social impacts, helping make consumers aware of the “encompassing price” of their purchases. Our challenge was to create a name and brand identity that would be experienced as trustworthy, transparent and independent, without being intimidating or overly-technical.
Matan (“gift” in Hebrew) is an organization whose mission is to integrate children with learning disabilities into the world of Jewish education. We were asked to create a new brand identity that reflected their move to expand nationally, and conveyed their mission and the organization’s values.
The Independent Film Project (IFP), America’s largest resource center for independent filmmakers asked us for a more animated version of their logo in time for the Gotham Awards’ 17th annual award ceremony. We had to breathe new life into the logo while expressing indie film’s “do-it-yourself” ethos while showcasing the Awards’ move to Brooklyn. We were given 10 working days to accomplish this.
Gedenk (Yiddish for “remember”) was founded by hip-hop violinist Miri ben Ari, after she discovered that over 50% of high school graduates in America were unaware of the Holocaust. Our task was to create a unique interactive experience that would create a direct experience for teenagers around the memory of victims of the genocide.