Marker Seven is very proud to announce the launch of a new website and branding vision for The Human Needs Project (HNP). Marker Seven worked with HNP’s founders and supporters to help them communicate the message of the visionary non-profit. The result is an online platform where the HNP community can connect, learn, and collaborate.

Founded by actress Connie Nielsen and green builder David Warner, HNP develops community infrastructures, called ‘Town Centers,” in poverty-stricken areas of the world. These Town Centers will create a stable resource for the community both physically - by providing fresh water, toilets and showers - and economically through education, micro-lending, and internet access. The first Town Center in Kibera, Kenya is nearing completion.

Marker Seven became involved by volunteering to design and build a website for the organization. “After our first meeting with the HNP team, it became clear to us that they also needed to reimagine their entire visual identity”, says John Clauss, CEO of Marker Seven. “Their existing logo concept was overused in the non-profit space and did not reflect everything that HNP does.” The results of an in-depth brand analysis led to a fresh, new logo featuring interconnected rectangles that represent the interconnected communities HNP is working to build. Read more about the brand development here.

“We are so grateful to Marker Seven for their amazing collaboration and vision,” says HNP Co-Founder & President/ Actor. “Our new site and branding clearly communicates our mission. It gives us the badly needed tools, like a blog and social integration, that will help us share our successes with our contributors and allow us to reach new potential supporters.”

www.humanneedsproject.org is a visually rich website that uses images, video, and simple, bold text to convey the organization’s vision. “We wanted to reveal the problem HNP is trying to address in an optimistic, positive light,” says Marker Seven’s Creative Director, Scott Abbott. “The minimalist color palette of the framework allows the large, bold pictures to tell the story. The site exudes enthusiasm and hope.”

“This project was exceptionally satisfying,” adds Clauss. “We are inspired by the work HNP is doing and hope, in some small way, our efforts will help them accomplish great things.”

About The Human Needs Project

While making the movie “Lost in Africa” in Nairobi, actress Connie Nielsen spent 10 months working in and walking around the slum Kibera. She was struck how the conditions resembled a prison: scarcity of goods, extreme over-crowding, violence and an almost total absence of choice. The result of that experience is The Human Needs Project, dedicated to building self-sustainable centers by working in complete partnership with locals to find the best solutions for the unique challenges of each center location.