A Home for Transformation — Where Power Takes Root
How do you honor nearly a century of movement-building while ensuring it continues to shape generations to come? For Highlander, the answer was clear: create a brand that doesn’t just tell its history but invites people to step into it. More than a place, Highlander is a catalyst—a home where activists, organizers, and creatives come to be taught, challenged, and transformed, emerging ready to build the future and shape what’s next.
Design That Feels Like Belonging — Rooted, Radical, and Alive
Highlander’s design isn’t just a look—it’s a feeling.
It carries the weight of history while pulsing with the energy of the present. Inspired by the Appalachian mountains, the land, and the archives, we built a visual language that honors its Southern roots and radical spirit. Bold yet welcoming, elevated yet deeply accessible, the brand holds both the rigor of a movement school and the creative, communal soul of Highlander—where music, craft, and resistance have always gone hand in hand.
But this wasn’t just a digital effort. — We knew that our audiences were craving in-person community, creativity, and connection.
So we met them where they were. At Art Basel in Miami, we partnered with Highlander to host workshops, artist conversations, vinyl listening sessions, and cultural gatherings—echoing the traditions of the 40s, 50s, and 60s, but in a way that resonates now. We designed Highlander’s event merch, creating keepsakes that carried the movement’s spirit beyond the event itself. And finally, we led with gratitude. To honor those shaping our future, we created custom gratitude boxes—filled with artifacts and messages of thanks—to recognize the individuals and organizations embodying Highlander’s principles today. Because movement-building isn’t just about what’s ahead; it’s about celebrating those who make the future possible.
Project Team:
Account Directors: Nicole Okōth, Isabella Sehringer, Jelani Rice
Creative Direction: Jinah Lee
Strategists: Isabella Sehringer, Kahlil Shepard
Design Leads: Yejee Pae, Jina Alhenawi
Website Engineering: Isaac Chansky
Video Editing & Sound Design: Ed Akselrud
Copywriting: Isabella Sehringer, Amanda Bachman