One look. One voice.
One feeling, no matter who
is creating or where it lands.
This guide exists so a flyer made in Fresno and a funder deck made in San Bernardino still read as the same organization. It covers how we look, how we sound, and how we behave, with enough detail that nobody has to guess.
Use it when you start something new. Use it as a last check before anything goes public. When a situation is not covered here, ask the brand contact before you publish.
Use This Guide For:
Internal Communications
Vendor & Partner Briefings
Design & Production Work
New Material Review Before Publication
CHC Mission
"To change lives by improving health and wellness."
Founded
1982
Headquarters
Fresno, CA
Programs
34+ regional & statewide
Reach
Serving Californians statewide
WHO WE AREÂ
The Health Collaborative is committed to addressing the health needs of Californians with special emphasis on under-resourced communities with limited access to resources or who face barriers related to culture, language, income, education, gender, geography or immigration status. To be as effective as possible, our services are culturally responsive and trauma-informed.
The Collaborative implements health promotion and disease prevention programs, public health surveillance systems, and a variety of capacity-building and networking activities.
Our Core Values
Access
Health is a right, not a privilege. We meet people where they are geographically, culturally, and emotionally.
Cultural Responsiveness
Programs built around communities, not delivered to them. Language and culture are not barriers, they are the foundation.
Trauma-Informed Care
Leading with healing, dignity, and whole-person wellbeing at every point of service.
Collaboration
Our name is our model. Partnerships are not a strategy they are how communities move forward.
Equity
We address systemic barriers, not just symptoms. Equity is the lens through which every program is designed.
Who We Serve
Two distinct audiences. One coherent brand that speaks to both with confidence.
Community Members
Residents of California with intersecting identities. Families, farmworkers, seniors, youth, birthing individuals, and pre and postpartum families looking for support across health, mental wellness, nutrition, and family services. We build for communities that have been under-resourced, and we meet them where they are.
Funders & Partners
Public agencies, private foundations, corporate partners, and donors who need confidence in CHC's professionalism, scale, and proven track record of impact.
Brand Voice
Warm. Clear. Capable. Grounded.
We Sound Like
- A team already in motion
- A guide, not a savior
- A partner, not a provider
- A statewide organization with deep local roots
We Don't Sound Like
- A government pamphlet
- A corporate hospital system
- A grant application
- An advocacy group with an axe to grind
Tone Spectrum
Our voice stays consistent across every context. Our tone flexes to meet the moment.
Community Pages
Warm, plain language, encouraging
Funder Materials
Confident, evidence-driven, professional
Social Media
Friendly, program-proud, celebratory
Crisis Topics
Calm, careful, resourceful
Internal
Direct, supportive, collaborative
Voice in Action
The same programs. The same organization. The right words for the right audience.
Community-Facing
Before: "The California Health Collaborative offers a comprehensive suite of culturally responsive maternal wellness interventions designed to address health disparities."
Funder-Facing
Before:"We do a lot of stuff for moms."
Typography Rules
What Never to Do with Type
No All-Caps Body Text
Reserve capitalization for short labels and headers only. All-caps destroys readability in paragraphs.
Max Three Weights Per Page
Using more creates visual noise. Let hierarchy do the work.
Keep Lines Under 80 Characters
Long lines fatigue the eye and undermine readability on both screen and print.
Maintain Minimum 1.5× Line Height
Never compress body text below 1.5× for legibility and accessibility.
Never Substitute Wordmark Fonts
The wordmark is a locked asset. Never retype, rebuild, or approximate it.
Photography Philosophy
"Photography is not decoration.
It's representation."
CHC's imagery should reflect the communities the Collaborative serves: families, farmworkers, seniors, youth, pregnant mothers, and under-resourced Californians of the Central Valley, Southern California, and beyond.
Photography Standards
✅ Always Do
- Real community members in real environments
- Multigenerational framing
- Reflect Central Valley demographics: Latino, Black, Hmong, Filipino, mixed immigrant, farmworker communities
- Natural light, eye-level framing
- Joy and dignity — always
🚫 Never Do
- Stock photos that look like stock photos
- Sterile clinical imagery
- Pity-based or deficit framing
- Overly posed corporate headshots for community materials
- Heavy filters that mask real skin tones
How to Take Photos
📱 On Phones
- Wipe the lens first. It is the easiest quality fix there is.
- Use natural light and face the subject toward it. Avoid harsh midday overhead sun and strong backlight.
- Tap the subject's face to focus, then lock exposure on it.
- Shoot at eye level, never looking down at people.
- Use the main 1x lens and step closer instead of using digital zoom.
- Turn on gridlines and keep the horizon straight.
- Skip the flash and skip beauty filters that change skin tones.
- Get a range: a wide shot for context, a medium for the moment, a close-up for emotion.
- Hold steady and take several frames of each.
- Shoot at highest quality and keep the originals.
📷 On Cameras
- Eye level, natural light, a lens in the 35mm to 85mm range for people.
- Open the aperture enough for soft background separation, but keep faces sharp.
- Watch your shutter speed so movement does not blur.
- Expose for skin and protect the highlights.
- Shoot RAW plus JPEG when you can.
- Keep editing light. True skin tones, every time. The over-polished campaign look is retired.
🖼 Framing for Where It Will Live
- Instagram and Facebook feed: vertical 4:5 is the workhorse, 1:1 also works.
- Stories and Reels: vertical 9:16, keep faces and any text away from the top and bottom edges.
- LinkedIn: 1:1 or 4:5, with a little more room for context.
- Website and decks: also grab horizontal 16:9 and 3:2 so you have wide options.
- Shoot a little looser than you need so there is room to crop for each platform.
Brand Infrastructure
Brand Asset Access
All approved brand assets live in CHC's shared brand drive. Use only official files — never recreate or approximate brand elements from memory.
Logo Files
PNG, SVG, EPS, and PDF in all approved variations
Color Swatches
Adobe Swatch Exchange, Pantone, and print-ready files
Fonts
Google Fonts links and downloadable files for both Sora and Inter
Templates
Letterhead, email signature, social media, PowerPoint, and Google Slides
Thank You
Keeping the Brand Strong
Every touchpoint is an opportunity to show up with consistency, care, and community at the center.
BallyWho Consulting
For brand questions, asset requests, and design reviews.
Phillis McCullon
760-861-4966
phillis@ballywho.com
CHC Internal Brand Contact
For internal review, approval workflows, and asset access.
Desiree Uribe
This Is the CHC Brand