The Hertz Foundation
Brand StrategyIntegrated MarketingVisual IdentityWeb Strategy & UX
Supporting a lifelong interdisciplinary community of innovators tackling the greatest challenges the world faces today, the non-profit Hertz Foundation was little known outside of the research world. Awarding no more than 25, five-year fellowships to PhD candidates in the applied sciences, mathematics, and engineering, the community may be small in number, yet its collective achievements, as seen in the video below, are outsized.
To memorably deliver the stories of Hertz Fellows, we created a new visual ID, logo, and mantra, Making History, all introduced via a totally re-imagined website.
Conveying how collaboration sparks innovation, distinct elements converge to form an “H” within the new logomark. Once seen, it is not forgotten.
Putting Fellows Front and Center
From the start, it was clear the accomplishments of Fellows would be central to the Hertz brand. It was also clear they needed to be presented without hyperbole and in a way that reflected the scientific rigor leading to their many breakthroughs.
At launch, the new website saw traffic increase by 70%; its lasting impact is an ease of use that supports the interdisciplinary nature of the Fellows’ research.
Awareness Ads: Name a Challenge
Increasing overall awareness was critical to the Hertz Foundation reaching both its fundraising goal and its increased fellowship applications goal. To that end, we created a social media campaign: “Name a Challenge. There’s a Hertz Fellow working on it.”
2025 saw the largest fellowship applicant pool in the Foundation’s history.
Supporters want to see their donations are making a difference. What was a static printed piece/PDF became a dynamic narrative called, appropriately, the Impact Report—an easily navigated compelling read.
Creating a never-ending story
The new brand:
Established the Foundation as a significant, one-of-its-kind organization whose Fellows are tackling the world’s toughest challenges
Increased overall awareness while bringing clarity to its role within the scientific ecosystem
Provided consistent messaging for the community of fellows and its friends
Cemented the thought leadership reputation of the Hertz Community
Increased applications to the graduate fellowship
Attracted new partners
Supercharged fundraising
Grafik created much-needed awareness of the Foundation’s pivotal role in helping our nation maintain global technological superiority, a position threatened today both by attacks on expertise and subsequent reductions in research funding.
The growing Hertz Community now speaks with one voice through their most credible advocates, the Hertz Fellows themselves. Supplying a solid narrative all could use means they can tell the whole story while citing their own achievements in a way that matches their personalities–humble, not braggadocious, yet still impressive.
