Rebranding Hope in Los Angeles

The project began with deep immersion into MFP's world — understanding their philosophy of radical hospitality and radical kinship, the "beautiful, organic chaos" of their physical space, and the nuanced needs of their audiences. Collaborating closely with brand designer Bahia Sommers of Winter Design Studio, the team explored a visual language inspired by LA street art, paste-up campaigns, and the murals that define the city's creative landscape. The resulting brand identity balances playful, modular letterforms with a clean condensed wordmark — a system that feels equally at home on swag and marketing materials.

The design process included three distinct mood board directions, each exploring how the color palette and brand elements could shape the overall tone: one youthful and street-inspired, one refined and institutional, and one vintage and hip. Presenting these options side by side sparked meaningful conversations with MFP's team about how they wanted to be perceived — and ultimately guided the final direction toward a dynamic balance of all three.

The new color palette draws from warm, approachable tones — bold reds and golden yellows for energy, anchored by deep blues and earthy greens for gravitas. Each color combination was pressure-tested across formats, ensuring that the brand could flex from youthful and loud on social media to polished and professional in print, without ever feeling like two different organizations.

Merchandise concepts weren't an afterthought — they were a strategic proof point. Tote bags, sweatshirts, hats, and tees were designed to demonstrate the brand's commercial potential, showing MFP's leadership how a strong visual identity could open new revenue streams through merch sales while amplifying awareness far beyond their Hollywood Drop-In Center.

The brand's typographic system pairs a bold condensed typeface with hand-drawn lettering to give MFP's core messages the sense of reality and urgency they deserve. Hand-drawn flourishes and overlapping layouts echo the beautiful, organic energy of the physical space itself. Each composition becomes an opportunity to place structured type with freehand strokes, underlines, and hand-sketched icons, creating a voice that feels both urgent and warm. 

The full homepage journey moves a visitor from crisis context to community warmth to clear calls to action in a single scroll — mirroring the real experience of walking through MFP's doors on Santa Monica Boulevard. Every block, from The Hidden Crisis to Stories From Our Community, is sequenced to build understanding before it asks for anything.
Each subsequent page type was carefully considered — program pages with consistent layouts for MFP’s main services; Safe Haven, Transformational Education, and Housing and Wellness; a dedicated capital campaign page; impact statistics woven throughout; and a For Young People section written in direct, second-person language that treats visitors like the community members they are.

The About Us page lays out MFP's mission, values, and service principles in a structure that reads as much like a manifesto as an org chart. Sections on community-based programming and service rooted in care and respect give stakeholders a window into how MFP works — not just what they do, but why it works. 

Bold stat blocks bring MFP's annual reach into sharp focus — 1,245 young people served, 157 crisis interventions, thousands of meals — without reducing anyone to a data point. A research section and real testimonials ground the numbers in lived experience, showing donors exactly where their investment lands.

Each program page — Safe Haven, Transformative Education, Housing & Wellness — follows a consistent structure while honoring the distinct personality of the work it represents. Detailed service listings give young people and referral partners the practical information they need, wrapped in a design that never feels clinical.

The donation experience pairs an emotionally resonant video moment with a streamlined giving form, removing friction between impulse and impact. Surrounding options — from goods drives to wish lists — ensure that supporters who can't give financially still see themselves reflected in the ask.

Written entirely in direct, second-person language, the For Young People page speaks to its audience as community members, not case numbers. An FAQ accordion and a directory of SPA locations put practical, potentially life-changing information within two clicks — no jargon, no gatekeeping.

The Get Involved page turns passive interest into meaningful action, offering clear pathways for volunteers, corporate partners, and community leaders to plug in. From the Corner Collective to the Emerging Leaders Council, each card invites visitors to find the role that fits their capacity and passion.

Interior pages use layered typography and warm photography to communicate MFP's philosophy of radical hospitality before a visitor reads a single paragraph. We use this basis as part of the overarching brand strategy, while creating reusable components and styles, to create a consistent branded look and feel, and also create an digital experience that is approachable yet professional.

This carousel component distills volunteer and giving opportunities into swipeable, action-ready cards — volunteer a shift, shop a youth wish list, donate masculine clothing. Each card is designed to feel approachable and immediate, lowering the barrier between scrolling and showing up.

A carousel weaves MFP's origin story into a visual timeline stretching from 1988 to the present, giving longtime supporters a sense of legacy and newcomers a reason to trust. Testimonial carousels and photography bring the daily energy of the Drop-In Center to life. Cards representing different service areas, take on different color ways which track with their respective interior pages, so the user feels more continuity while navigating the website.

The full brand guidelines spread — from primary wordmark to secondary lockups, color palette to typography rules — demonstrates a visual system rigorous enough for a capital campaign deck and loose enough for a volunteer's screen-printed tee. Every specification is designed to keep MFP looking like MFP, no matter who's building with it.