press releases
Contrast Creative Unveils New Logo & Website for Non-Profit
5.10.09
Contrast Creative, a Cary, North Carolina communications firm, developed a logo and website pro-bono for The Kris Marceno Foundation. The foundation was established in late 2008 to educate youth and adults alike about the dangers of the choking game.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, the choking game (also know as the fainting game, pass-out game and scarf game to name a few) is defined by self-strangulation or strangulation by another person with the hands or a noose to achieve a brief euphoric state or a high. It’s estimated as many as 250 to 1,000 boys and girls between the ages of nine and 16 years old die in the United States each year playing some variant of the choking game, but it’s difficult to track accurate statistics because many of the cases are reported as suicides.
“We simply want to make a difference in our community. The Kris Marceno Foundation is committed to saving children’s lives. And whatever they need to accomplish that goal, we are with them 100 percent,” says Contrast Creative President Tim Travitz.
“Our hope is that the KM Foundation website can inspire change,” says Kathleen McDonald, Vice President and Creative Director of Contrast Creative and KMF Vice President. “We want it to be a resource for youth and adults, a place to come to for up-to-date information and a place to launch discussions about how we can prevent this game from taking any more lives.”
The design of the website started with a logo. “A logo is really the first step to establishing an organization’s identity. It needs to set the stage for the entire look, feel, and tone of the messaging,” says McDonald. Contrast created a logo that’s shaped like an exclamation mark. It contains an image of a youth with his arms outstretched in a triumphant pose with vivid beams of light illuminating his presence.
The logo’s image represents the foundation’s namesake Kris Marceno, a 15-year-old Enloe High School sophomore and Cary resident who died November 2, 2008 while playing the choking game. Kris was a vibrant teen who was dearly loved by his family and friends. He was brimming with talent and promise as a seasoned actor, singer and dancer. “His life was lived,” explains McDonald, “as an exclamation mark. That’s how everyone described him. This was just an appropriate way to pay tribute to him.”
With a very simple and direct tagline “Speak Up!” there’s no mistaking the messaging of the foundation and the intent of its website.
“One of the primary goals of the KM Foundation is to challenge, inspire, motivate, and inspire kids to ‘Speak Up’ in order to protect and possibly save the life of a friend, family member or acquaintance engaging in this dangerous activity,” explains McDonald.
The website incorporates bold colors, poignant images and edgy photographs and graphics in order to appeal to its youthful audience. These compelling elements are combined with relevant information about the choking game, signs and symptoms youth and parents should know about and emotional video testimonials from kids who’ve lost someone to the choking game.
“If anyone is playing the choking game or even if you suspect that they’re playing the choking game,” pleads one teenage girl whose friend died last year, “then please say something, tell somebody because nobody wants to see their best friend lying in a casket…So please, Speak Up, and do the right thing.”
For more information about the choking game and the Kris Marceno Foundation, visit the website at www.krismarcenofoundation.com.