Chicago Brand Designer
Identity System Expert
Identity System Expert
First Lady Visual Brand Identity and Website
Span
First Lady
Civic, Government, Design, Academic, Wellness, Healthcare
Research, Naming Strategy, Branding, Interactive, Print, Environmental Signage, Motion,
Nick Adam
Design Direction, Concept, Strategy, Design, Naming
Kevin Moreland
Design, Motion
Institute for Healthcare Delivery Design
Service Design, Program Management, User Research, Strategic Planning, Copy Writing
Wes Meador
Media Strategy
Flowers Communications Group
Media Placement, Public Relations
Metaphrasis
Translation
The State of Illinois Department of Human Rights (IDHR) and the Commission on Discrimination and Hate Crimes (CDHC) launched a statewide service to support people targeted by hate. It had a phone number. What it lacked was the public’s awareness and trust. Nick Adam’s team at Span was brought in to change that.
Working alongside UIC’s Institute for Healthcare Delivery Design (IHDD), we renamed, rebranded, and reintroduced the service to the public. The result was Help Stop Hate—a trauma-informed, multilingual, statewide service and campaign that reframed reporting not as retaliation, but as care in action.
Initially piloted as Illinois v. Hate, the helpline's name implied conflict and positioned the state as the protagonist. Moving away from tension to solidarity, the renamed service Help Stop Hate is a three-word promise. Help centers care. Stop signals urgency. Hate names the problem—without euphemism.
Span designed a visual system rooted in action. ‘Help’ leans forward. ‘Stop’ pulls back. ‘Hate’ stands still—unignorable. The visual language draws on civic forms: rigid diagonals, grounded color, modular composition. Designed to function everywhere from Chicago CTA ads to community newspapers and rural county billboards.
To reach survivors—not just residents—we kept the value proposition simple and kind. “Report hate, get support” is about access and letting people know: they are not alone. The Not in Our State campaign launched in the seven most spoken languages in Illinois: English, Spanish, Arabic, Polish, Hindi, Tagalog, and Mandarin.
The Responce was Immediate
In a single week, the helpline logged 5x more reports of hate than in the previous six months combined. A 12,000% increase in reports, week over week. More than a design system, it’s civic infrastructure. This is public work, working.
The campaign activated 40 counties across Illinois, reaching over 90% of the state’s population and turning awareness into action at scale.
By grounding the identity in architectural heritage and typographic craft, First Lady now claims its rightful place—not just as a tourism provider, but as a cultural fixture.
Nick Adam, Design Director
and Associate Partner at Span.Studio
New business inquiries
Nick(at)Span.Studio
Chicago, South Side
Kenwood Neighborhood
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