The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation
- Logo
- Branding
A logo redesign to reflect the Foundation’s history and values while pointing toward the future
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation had a communications challenge: the organization was changing quickly but their brand wasn’t keeping pace. They needed a new identity that would communicate their legacy while bringing them up to speed in the landscape. The identity also needed to be flexible enough to serve them well on various mediums: on their website, social platforms, and in physical media.
Finding the Unifying Message
The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation is a family foundation established in 1944 by the man who started Hilton Hotels. They provide funds to nonprofit organizations working to improve the lives of individuals living in poverty and experiencing disadvantage throughout the world. They invest in 11 program areas, ranging from homelessness to disaster recovery. With such broad initiatives, it was a communication challenge to visually communicate the essence of the foundation.
The key to solving this problem was distilling the foundation’s work down to it’s guiding force: the legacy that started it all.
The Last Will & Testament
When Conrad N. Hilton died in 1979, he left virtually all of his estate to the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation to alleviate human suffering throughout the world, establishing a perpetual legacy of global humanitarianism.
In his last will and testament, he distilled pure intentions for the foundation: “There is a natural law, a Divine law, that obliges you and me to relieve the suffering, the distressed and the destitute.”
Today, the Foundation’s work continues to be guided by intentions expressed in Conrad Hilton’s will, and his words are prominently displayed in our office as a constant reminder of the Foundation’s underlying principles.
Visualizing the Legacy
Every aspect of the new logo was curated to honor this philanthropic legacy. The rectangular shape in the background mimics the shape of the paper in the last will and testament. I took samples of Conrad N. Hilton’s handwriting to vectorize an accurate signature. The color of the background fades from a rich blue, because Conrad N. Hilton exclusively signed things in blue ink, and often printed documents in blue to match.
A Complete System
The system includes an outlined mark for single color applications, a small abstract mark for social media, and printed collateral.
