About the Brand Refresh:

Children’s Institute has been nicknamed “CI” for many years. We are embracing this friendly term for our organization and using it as the focal point for our updated logo. The new logo is modern, bright, and simple, and is designed to portray feelings of youth, development, education, inclusion, and impact. Our brand refresh efforts reflect feedback from partners and our community. As our organization grew, it became a multi-layered mix of new and legacy brands, each with its own identity. The goal of the brand refresh is to provide clarity to our partners and communities served, help to tell our story, and foster an inclusive organizational culture. Rolling out our new brand architecture includes new messaging, website, collateral, and resource updates. The brand architecture and design refresh includes a new logo, an updated visual identity, and a new program certification mark. It will more clearly define Children’s Institute’s work in the community.

About the Move:

On December 4, 2023, CI began the transition to work from our new location, the Chapin Building at 205 St. Paul Street. Teams that currently share our space from ROC the Future Alliance (RTFA) and the Greater Rochester Summer Learning Alliance (GRSLA) will also be moving to this location, along with partners from the Early Childhood Education Quality Council (ECEQC) and the Rochester International Children's Film Festival. We required a location that supported our strategic intent: To foster change with and across education, health, human services, and family systems, that ensures children’s holistic well-being - and creates more racially and socially just and equitable communities. The move to 205 St. Paul supports this intent, as the area is targeted for the next major Rochester downtown transformation  investment, working to eliminate inequities by removing boundaries between business and neighborhoods. Located in the heart of the St. Paul quarter, it provides easy access for community members as well as to transportation via the inner loop, expressway, and public transit nearby. The location provides a better cost outlook with a more functional, comfortable, sustainable, accessible, and visible place for our mission delivery.

What’s New - Key Elements of the Brand Refresh:

• A new CI agency logo with affiliated logos for each of our unique programs and activities
• Use of a new CI ‘Certification Mark’ for programs that are approved or endorsed
• Intentional coordination with our existing branding, which allows the CI team to migrate to the new brand throughout our current fiscal year
• Note that community-based partnerships and collective impact efforts will retain use of existing logos (Get Ready to GROW, Rochester Project LAUNCH, ROC the Future Alliance)

What’s New - The Move:

• Updated workspaces and technology with an inviting, collaborative space for community gatherings and impromptu working sessions
• Street-level and -front access entries, close to public transportation hubs, with ample visitor parking at all times of day
• Fourth-floor location for ROC the Future Alliance
• Second-floor location for training and professional development
• A new home for our Get Ready to GROW bus
• Use of 195 St. Paul Street for parking and a future workspace