American
Heart Association
Heart Ball Campaign — a scalable creative identity for a national fundraising initiative.
About the Project
- Client
- American Heart Association
- Role
- Visual Designer
- Services
- Creative Direction · Brand Systems · Campaign Design · Presentation Design · UX/UI
- Timeline
- 8 months · 2024
- Deliverables
- Print · Digital · Social · Presentation · Interactive Dashboard
The American Heart Association needed a Heart Ball campaign identity that could scale across regional markets while holding a single, unmistakable national voice.
The system was designed to travel — from invitation card to event signage, from a chairman's deck to a fundraising dashboard — without losing its editorial calm. Watercolor gestures, gold leaf accents, and quiet typography give the identity warmth without leaning on clinical, corporate cues.
Heart Ball Identity
An editorial system, softened by watercolor and warmed by gold.
The identity is built on generous whitespace, a serif display voice, and hand-painted heart forms that carry across every touchpoint. Deep crimson anchors moments of emotion; brushed gold marks the celebratory ones. Everything else recedes to let the storytelling — and the mission — lead.
Creative Exploration
Early invitation concepts explored contrasting temperaments — from painterly watercolor blooms to torn-edge marble and gilded splatter — before landing on the final direction.
Final Campaign System
Color
Warm ivory ground, crimson emphasis, and burnished gold accents create a palette that reads celebratory without feeling clinical.
Typography — Lub Dub
Lub Dub — the American Heart Association's proprietary sans-serif by Steve Matteson, named after the sound of a beating heart. Set across Light, Medium, Heavy, and Condensed for headlines and fine print alike.
Texture
Watercolor and gold leaf textures — hand-painted, then scanned — bring craft and warmth to every application.
"A national system that lets every market feel local — the Heart Ball, in its own voice, everywhere."
Design Principle · 01
My Role
Campaign Assets
A single visual system flexed across every channel — from printed invitations to email graphics and event environments.
Invitations
Digital Ads
Social Media
Email Graphics
Programs
Signage
Video Graphics
Real-World Implementation
The approved direction translated across regional markets and live event environments — the same identity, adapted with care to each community.
South Florida
Ohio
Additional Markets
AHA Live Dashboard
Redesigning the American Heart Association Live dashboard to create a more engaging fundraising experience.
During my internship with the American Heart Association, I redesigned the AHA Live fundraising dashboard, recreated branded interface assets, and developed an interactive prototype in Figma. The redesign focused on improving usability, visual hierarchy, and donor engagement while extending the Heart Ball visual identity into a cohesive digital experience.
- Dashboard Redesign
- Brand Asset Recreation
- UI Design
- Interactive Prototype
- Donation Experience
- User Profile Dashboard
My Contribution
During my internship with the American Heart Association, I contributed to the digital product experience by:
- —Redesigning the fundraising dashboard
- —Recreating branded logos and interface assets
- —Designing high-fidelity UI screens
- —Building an interactive prototype in Figma
- —Improving visual hierarchy and usability
- —Extending the Heart Ball campaign into a cohesive digital experience
Results & Impact
Scaling a creative system across a national organization is less about control and more about invitation — building a language that stakeholders want to speak.
Interested in working together?
Let's create meaningful digital experiences through thoughtful design.
Contact Rebekah