Branding and visual identity elevate the Center for Art and Advocacy’s mission to support justice-impacted artists.

The Center for Art and Advocacy’s visual transformation is a study in how branding can sharpen purpose. Designed by London-based studio Made Thought, the new identity system elevates a community-rooted arts organization into an institution capable of reshaping conversations around art and justice.

The Center, born from the Right of Return Fellowship by Jesse Krimes and Russell Craig, exists at a unique intersection. It’s not an activist collective. It’s not a traditional gallery. It’s a platform for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated artists to push the boundaries of art—creatively and culturally. And it needed a brand to match.

Positioning with precision

The design strategy centers on a single clear idea: “Empowering creativity that challenges the limits of incarceration.” With that lens, Made Thought crafted a brand that speaks equally to institutional credibility and artistic freedom. The approach avoids clichés and visual tropes often seen in advocacy work, favoring clarity and space instead.

This isn’t a brand that shouts. It’s one that listens, responds, and adapts—giving justice-impacted artists the space they’ve long been denied. The flexibility of the visual identity allows the Center to grow, evolve, and shift focus as new work and voices come forward.

Form follows mission

The logo is more than a mark—it’s a metaphor. With tiered layers symbolizing stages in an artist’s journey, the logo suggests motion, support, and upward momentum. The accompanying graphic system is intentionally open. Typography and layout pull back just enough to center artists and their work across digital platforms, print, and even the wordmark itself.

Art direction strikes a balance between intimacy and polish. The redesigned website (centerforartandadvocacy.org) now reflects this duality, with cleaner navigation and a focus on storytelling through the lens of lived experience and creative practice.

A flexible future

Made Thought’s work doesn’t just represent a rebrand—it signals a recalibration of how arts institutions can operate. The Center’s new visual identity is structured yet fluid, refined but never removed from the artists it supports. It invites discovery, dialogue, and deeper connection.

And more importantly, it ensures the Center doesn’t just support artists on the margins—it puts them in focus.

For more information make sure to check out Designed by Made Thought

Branding and visual identity artifacts

The result is a flexible brand that can be easily implemented and evolve with the organisation. It is a signal of their continued dedication to art and brings the future of the organisation into sharp focus.