Brand System · Nonprofit75% race growth, two years running. Here's what changed.
The Sioux Falls Area Running Club had been building the running community for over 20 years. What I noticed was an opportunity: a board with real ambition to grow race participation through a series of new mascot-driven events, and a brand ready to match that energy.
I blended legacy elements with a Sioux Falls twist to create a refreshed identity system with multiple mascots, each tied to a specific race. The system was built to show up everywhere: races, apparel, social media, and the website. A social media graphics library gave the communications team a consistent, eye-catching toolkit to post from daily.
75%
Race participation increase, 2 years in a row
1,800%+
Social engagement increase in 3 months
LogoLounge 14
Selected from 30,000 entries worldwide
What changed why it mattered
Before
Thin lines and too much detail made the mark hard to reproduce across apparel, signage, and small formats.
After
Bold lines, easy to read at any size. City flag colors, diagonal elements, and familiar landmarks built into a mark that felt unmistakably Sioux Falls.
Final Result
The design approach combined the running identity with Sioux Falls: city flag colors and diagonals, past logo elements, and city landmarks, all pulled into a system that could flex across multiple mascots and race formats while staying immediately recognizable as one club.
Logo variations
1,800%+ engagement in 3 months
Three months after the communications chair began posting daily from the new graphics library, engagement on Facebook and Instagram grew 1,800% without any paid advertising.
Full scope
Brand guidelines, run club logos, mascot illustrations, social media templates and graphics, apparel, drinkware, pop-up banners, race posters, rack cards, stickers, and coloring pages.
76% Increase in Race Participation 2 Years in a Row
When partnering with Sioux Falls Area Running Club to roll-out their updated trail series rebrand.
"Awesome to work with in every way. Kristi's communication shows her professionalism and dedication to make sure our nonprofit organization was completely happy with the design process and the end results."
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