Community Solutions for Substance Use & Recovery

Community Solutions for Substance Use & Recovery (or CSSUR) is a collaborative group of recovery supporters and substance use disorder service providers. The group spans several counties and Tribal Nations in Minnesota. They have a vision of a community where everyone has access to substance use recovery, health and well-being. Their efforts focus on supporting recovery through community-based solutions for those impacted by substance use.

The Challenge

The group is helping in countless ways, but they needed help themselves when it came to succinctly sharing who they are and what they’re here to do.

The Solution

CSSUR’s need centered on developing a logo, but we took things a step further by first addressing organization’s name first. Rather than using the initials, CSSUR, we wanted the focus to be on the most important words, ‘Community Solutions’. We chose to keep these two words bold and large throughout the brand. ‘Community Solutions’ makes for an easier shorthand name as well as speaks directly to what the organization ultimately provides.

When it comes to the design, we centered in on the letter ‘C’. The round shape of the ‘C’ creates a balanced base for the brand icon and represents the greater work being accomplished. We used a color palate that is associated with recovery and created a quilted pattern of fresh, inviting colors to represent the community working together to achieve one goal.

The design includes a speech bubble to showcase the conversation being had between community members, families and friends. It symbolizes the discussions being had that are rooted in effective strategies for creating change.

Lastly, the three silhouettes of people sitting in the center of the speech bubble illustrate the idea of continued work that is, by nature, ongoing.

More Non-Profit Branding

We love partnering with good people striving to bring more good into the world. That leads us to work with a number of wonderful non-profits. To see other examples of non-profit branding work we’ve done, visit the following work example pages.