Strategic Events & Campaign Development
Case Study:
Global Campaign
for Donkeysaddle Projects
Context (Inside the Jar)
I was brought on as Creative Director, envisioning and leading the visual identity of a signature program and four distinct activations. As an organization, everything Donkeysaddle Projects does uses art and storytelling for communal political education, to challenge injustice in all of its manifestations, to connect movements, and to nurture radical imagination.
Donkeysaddle was building an ambitious campaign with dual purposes:
Sustain and grow the work of their Grassroots Community Network (GCN)
Promote their new documentary film, Severed, about Palestinian liberation and disability justice
These initiatives needed powerful branding to raise support for their work with families in Gaza and beyond, and to empower communities to activate and respond to the issues raised.
Creative Direction
I added power to a global movement campaign through strategic creative direction and design by:
Building strong visual themes tying fundraising and outreach objectives centered on the overarching focus: the movement for a free Palestine, and supporting Donkeysaddle’s storytelling partners in Gaza and around the world.
Developing distinct branding and visual identity system for the program, Grassroots Community Network
Crafting visual identity and cohesive suite of assets for the virtual fundraiser, Creating the Future We Deserve
Providing creative direction and leading design support on materials for the film premiere, ‘Severed’ in Seattle
Concepting bold visual identity and creative direction, and overseeing production designer for grassroots screening campaign and fundraiser, Palestine is a Disability Justice Issue.
Creative Solutions
Integrated parent branding of Donkeysaddle Projects to inform the sub-brands of the GCN program and the film, Severed, to create new brand guidelines incorporating meaningful imagery, expanded color palette, and familiar typography:
Olive branch image I photographed in Palestine echoes the mission of justice and peacemaking
Icons illustrate tangible support and stipends the GCN project provides
Recurring sharp wedge is a visual symbol of the disability and displacement themes of Severed. In red, they evoke a sense of threat and urgency.
Concepted and executed a wide range of deliverables for the campaigns and events, running February through October 2025, including:
Visual messaging and creative as templates for internal and field use
Website and newsletter assets
Dynamic host toolkit for screening campaign
Posters and program suites for events
Social media and digital ad packages for each activation.
Impact
The integrated branding efforts of this unique campaign successfully captured the essence of what makes Donkeysaddle Projects special: the organization’s work is a powerful reminder that mutual aid, art and organizing are incredible tools for liberation.
Because my branding was approached with their most foundational values in mind, it can grow and evolve as the organizational needs and activism landscape changes. The Grassroots Community Network visual strategy laid the foundation for Donkeysaddle’s related, subsequent activations to be successful:
Increased awareness and connection toward the GCN program, which continues to provide monthly stipends for 20 extended families within Gaza, those who they helped evacuate to Cairo, and families connected to Donkeysaddle’s storytelling work in other areas of crisis around the world.
Creating the Future We Deserve brought together 12 artists of multiple disciplines to perform and carve a nourishing space for the community to experience the healing power of art. The event raised $4,500 for GCN.
The experiential, community-based campaign for Severed activated:
1,000 registrants for the virtual screening and campaign launch
100+ community screenings in 56+ cities in 11 countries
Vital, continuous fundraising for GCN, Severed film’s global impact, and stipends for the film’s protagonist, co-producer, and Donkeysaddle intern from Gaza
Linking disability justice and Palestinian rights during National Disability Awareness Month and marking the two year anniversary of the escalated genocide in Gaza.
After repeat successful launches since early 2024, I’ve continued to work with Donkeysaddle Projects on collaborations from new fundraising initiatives to mentoring DSP design intern, Angel, who I collaborated on design with for some of the above assets. Together we continue evolving Donkeysaddle Projects into a powerful organization that is values-led, consistent, and inspiring – turning mission into movements.
“From the time Shelby began working with us, our visual identity immediately elevated. Our posts reach more people, and our campaigns and events were that much more successful as a result. Shelby's clear and accessible style of communication, combined with her design talent, prompted me to ask her to take on a new role: that of mentoring Angel, a junior designer who would become our intern. The work the two of them has produced has been consistently excellent, delivered on time, and responsive to feedback. We are so lucky to have found her and hope she will work with us for years to come!”
–Jen Marlowe, film director and Founder/Program Director of Donkeysaddle Projects
