Border Kindness
Non-Profit Design for Good Marathon
As President of the Cal Poly Pomona Chapter of AIGA (The Professional Organization for Design), I had the honor of leading a bold, student-driven design initiative in collaboration with Border Kindness during our annual 24-Hour Design-a-thon. Border Kindness is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides humanitarian aid to migrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.–Mexico border, offering food, shelter, clothing, legal services, and more. They’ve never taken federal funding, instead relying on the power of grassroots community support. Despite their life-changing impact, their visual communication tools were lacking a coheisive branding strategy. They were also lacking a distinguishable UX/UI framework which created a user experience that felt scattered, inaccessible, and not reflective of the care and dignity their work represents. They needed visual systems that were multilingual, respectful, and strategically aligned and delivered fast and with purpose.
Client
Border Kindness
Services
Branding Identity, Collaboration, Design Strategy, Leadership, Social Impact Design, UX/UI
Industries
Non-Profit
Date
April 2025
My mission was to direct a 25-person design team in co-creating a comprehensive, trauma-informed suite of design solutions that could uplift the work of Border Kindness, while working on an extremely condensed timeline.
This included:
Brand identity system
Website mockups (responsive + accessible)
Digital social media templates
Informational print materials
Visual storytelling for three key initiatives: The Backpack Drive, Migrant Moms, and the Children's Empowerment Center
Branded event t-shirts (yep, I designed those!)
From kickoff to delivery, I focused on being an open, clear, and energizing leader, someone who could keep momentum flowing across five design teams while honoring the seriousness of the mission.
Here’s how I led the charge:
Recruited 20 talented designers via an application-based selection process
Held discovery sessions with Border Kindness leadership to understand real user needs (programs, volunteers, migrants, donors)
Led the creation of a shared Figma workspace, team creation based on individual strengths, establishing brand guardrails and a digital system on Discord for tracking progress
Structured the event into four sprints with three formal check-ins to ensure creative alignment, as well as coordinated a guest critique from 7 alumni who currently work in the design industry
Worked closely with team leads and acted as a design mentor, giving real-time feedback, offering encouragement, and keeping things moving during the chaos of the 24-hour window
Personally contributed to Spanish translation quality control, layout refinement, merchandise designs and respectful photo treatments
Organized design files and maintained consistent workflows
Communicate design updates clearly and professionally
Managed multiple design tasks and deadlines
Organize and archive files for easy retrieval
Proofread layouts for visual and typographic accuracy
Introduced a trauma-informed design mindset by:
Incorporating the actual U.S.– Mexico border shape as a graphic motif
Using textured overlays on images of children to honor their privacy
Designing for dual audiences: migrants seeking help and donors/volunteers wanting to contribute
Encouraged intentional storytelling in the UX/UI team’s website mockups. We used FIGMA — balancing clarity, empathy, and action
In 24 hours, we didn’t just deliver design assets, we delivered hope with integrity.
Our teams created a full visual system that was:
Emotionally grounded
Culturally thoughtful
Multilingual and modular
Built to last, usable across print, digital, and physical environments
The nonprofit began using materials immediately. Our website mock-ups are now being explored for development. Border Kindness expressed deep gratitude for the sensitivity and clarity of the work. We even received attention from adjacent community orgs looking to replicate our collaborative model for future Design-a-thon sprints.
We turned a 24-hour challenge into a platform for impact.
This project was a full-circle moment for me.
Many of the students I led were peers I’ve grown with throughout university. Utilizing their unique skill sets became our team strength. Watching them shine, under pressure, with heart, was unforgettable. We didn't just make things look good. We made things feel right.
I’m incredibly proud of how we navigated urgency, complexity, and emotion, all while staying kind, clear, and creative.
And yeah, we looked good doing it in the shirts I designed, too. 💛
Collaboration would not have been possible without the following designers:
Explainer Video: Dom Almario (team lead), Aedyline Santos, Lauren Wong, Rachana Jukanti
Merch & Apparel: Jasmine Guevara (team lead) Metzli Gonzalez, Nicolas Do, Patty Leemmattanant
UI/UX: Lisa Romero (team lead), Gary Palacios, Cali Phan, Kelsey Duong
Social Media & Marketing: Elizabeth Cabrera, Alessa De Hoyos (team leads) Lizbeth Naranjo, Julie Lapointe, Karina Roldan
Branding: Mia Cherry (team lead), Amanda Rosario, Makayla Therien, Yesi Dorado
all photographs taken by Jasmine J. Guevara
