Superunion: Urban Justice Center

The Urban Justice Center is a collective of non-profit lawyers that was founded in 1984 when it operated from a burned-out building in East Harlem. With no funding, the collective set up free legal clinics in soup kitchens, jails and shelters – places other lawyers would not go.

As a social justice incubator, the Urban Justice Center cultivates non-profit initiatives that advocate for legislative change and provide free legal support to marginalized citizens. Since it was set up 36 years ago, these initiatives have grown in scale and exposure. Over time, as these initiatives gained greater brand recognition over the Urban Justice Center, key stakeholders lost sight of the Center's value.

Superunion was enlisted to help the Urban Justice Center strengthen its positioning so that it centred around a balance of its trailblazing efforts in social justice and its nurturing care for clients and society. With this balance in mind, Urban Justice Center’s new north star was rooted in the tagline, “Fuelling Social Change”.

A visual identity was needed to make the message clear: when it comes to Fuelling Social Change, justice always leads. This visual identity was inspired by the grassroots methodology that the Urban Justice Center was founded on, channelling the in-your-face attitude of vintage protest placards. The bold typography and imagery is a visual interpretation of the voice of the under-represented.

An updated UX strategy and design for Urban Justice Center's website brought the brand to life – and earned Superunion a Webby award.

Read more on superunion.com