Displayed with the express permission of Autism Speaks Canada. All work shown is the property of Autism Speaks Canada.
RE-IMAGINING A LEGACY
GAME ON was an existing program that was created in 2016 and done by Autism Speaks in the US. It was trying to capitalize on the success of St. Jude’s Play Live. The Canadian version was with an e sports team (Shattered Dreams), where team members would stream over the span of a few months and encourage viewers to donate. The program was dropped shortly after.
NEW GAME: NEW STRATEGY
The revival strategy is based on a trident of supporting prongs: focusing on gamers, paid social push, and creating an event. The new GAME ON will spotlight autistic Canadians and recognizing their participation in the gaming space. The program will be set up to be open to anyone and will provide support and rewards to participants.
BRAND RESPAWN
Autism Speaks and Autism Speaks Canada had rebranded in 2020, and the GAME ON logo was no longer in step with the new brand language. Along with modernizing the brand, this was a chance to listen to our constituents and show their voice is a part of everything we do. We went into ideation on the brand direction with these key items in mind:
- Bring branding into compliance with current brand guidelines
- Modernize the type and clean up the aesthetic
- Simplify the shapes and forms to create cohesion
- Reference gaming jargon and visual stylings that make sense together
EXTRA LIFE
At the centre of the new logo is the new GAME ON heart icon; a choice that was inspired by both the autism and gaming community. There has a long debate within the autism community on what symbol should represent autistic people, so I took this opportunity to come up with a new symbol that would be unique to this sub-brand.
In video games, extra lives have historically been used as form of built in accessibility mechanic. If someone is having trouble with a level, an extra life allows them to have another chance at completing the level. Accessibility goes beyond accommodating different physical abilities, but also accommodating neurodiversity. The extra life does both without singling anyone out or forcing that decision on the player. Sometimes all someone needs are a more tries to have fun.
"I LOVE THIS NEW LOGO, AND I REALLY LIKE THE HEART."
- AUTISTIC PARTICIPANT
GAME START
GAME ON specific merchandise and assets were needed to be used as both incentives and as gifts to any streamers we work with. It also was thought of as a potential revenue stream as it would be designed for an unaddressed market in the existing Autism Speaks Canada merchandise.
The designs included references to popular games and Canada while maintaining the brand language of GAME ON. Along with modelling and manufacturing the key-cap reward, I worked to create captivating t-shirt and hoodie designs, and worked with my team to create attention grabbing social ads.
Visit the new GAME ON website!
HIT THE WEB
Once the GAME ON sub-brand was fully developed, I moved onto designing and creating the web pages for the program on the Autism Speaks Canada Website.
The website was designed with ease of use and simplifying information in mind. The style mimicked of other charity stream websites while having a unique visual style of its own.
PROCESS
PITCHING, LEADING, AND CREATING
As someone that enjoys video games, I was very passionate about reviving this project when I had discovered it. I created a pitch deck to propose this project to the Executive Director and had it approved to launch in the upcoming two years. I worked with cross-functional teams and the marketing team (including summer interns) to put everything together for the launch.
COLLABORATORS
I had pitched this project at Autism Speaks Canada, and its launch was facilitated with the help of the Marketing Team, Development (Fundraising) Team, and the Walk and Events Director.
Social assets and supporting collateral were created with the help of summer interns, supervised and advised by me.
Project launched in October of 2023