Chicago Brand Designer
Identity System Expert Nick Adam

Help Stop Hate Brand Identity and Campaign



Design Studio

Span

 Client

Illinois Department of Human Rights
Illinois Commission on Discrimination & Hate Crimes
Institute for Healthcare Delivery Design

Community

Civic, Government, Design, Academic, Wellness, Healthcare
Services

Naming, Branding, Campaign, Iteractive, Motion

Credits

Nick Adam
Design Direction, Concept, Strategy, Design, Naming

Kevin Moreland
Design, Motion

Project Partners

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
Transforming words into actions.

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.

Three cuts of Grilli Type’s GT Planar were used, allowing ‘Help’ to lean forward into action, ‘Stop’ to lean back in urgency, and ‘Hate’ to sit still—unignorable.
Designed for multi-channel impact, the brand identity and campaign not only engaged diverse audiences, they outperformed industry benchmarks.
Span designed the Not in Our State campaign in the seven most spoken languages in Illinois: English, Spanish, Arabic, Polish, Hindi, Tagalog, and Mandarin.
We designed the campaign in Illinois’ seven most spoken languages. Digital ads used a dynamic delivery strategy to ensure each person saw it in their preferred language, driving engagement rates that surpassed every industry benchmark.
Beyond traditional out-of-home placements, Help Stop Hate showed up in thousands of gas stations, grocery stores, libraries, and bars—everyday spaces across small towns and big cities.

That visibility was intentional. Anti-hate efforts can’t only live in safe or expected spaces—they need to show up where harm happens. This campaign was built to meet people where they are, embedding clear, supportive messages into the very environments where bias and harassment too often go unchecked.



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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