DoDream Nonprofit Project
Roles
Co-Founder
Art and Project Direction
Branding
Product Design
Print Deliverables
Storybook Illustration
Teams
Co-Founders: Woojin Ahn, Jane Lee, Ura Hwang
Storybook Writers: Jessie Kraemer, Ariel Nichols, Ruth Han
Storybook Illustrator: KeunJi Lee
DoDream is a nonprofit project that was initiated by four students in the Art Schools of Virginia Commonwealth University, including myself, with our shared interest in utilizing our passion and skills in visual art to create a profit and help others in need, especially children and teenagers in vulnerable environments. Many research has shown that adverse childhood experiences can have an impact on an individual's future violence perpetration, decision-making process, and even life-long health.
This led us to wonder: What could we do to make a positive impact on children in such circumstances?
Why Storybook?
As a child, I always loved reading storybooks and seeing beautiful artwork in them. Storybooks and their artworks ignited my love for visual art and the warmth of their story and experience of reading still feels home to me.
It's no surprise that researches prove the astonishing benefits of storybooks for children – storybooks provide reassurance and confidence, build self-esteem, feed the imagination, and improve vocabulary.
Stemmed from personal experience and research findings, the team has settled on what we would like to do and how to achieve it.
We outlined the milestones of our project as follows:
#1 Create a set of original storybooks
Collaborate with local, student writers through a call for submissions.
Pair writers with illustrators to craft unique, original storybooks.
#2 Generate Funds for Printing
Create art works and stationary products for sale
Initiate fundraising to support our goal.
Print in high-quality hardcover
#3 Donate Storybooks
Distribute storybooks to local organizations serving children from low-income families.
Engage in interactive reading sessions with the children
We then began our project in hope that one of our books will:
heal the wounded hearts, spark dreams, encourage higher education, and most importantly, trigger to discover the purpose of life – to be loved and to love!
Setting the Brand Tone and Creating a Logo
As a lead brand designer for the project, my initial focus was on establishing a consistent brand tone and a logo that would resonate across all our products and marketing efforts. In order to appeal to our main audiences:
Contributors (those interested in supporting our project)
Customers (those purchasing our products)
Readers (both children and adults enjoying our storybooks),
The branding and the logo needed to have a friendly, delightful, and somewhat earthy aesthetic. To symbolize the hope that our project's mission would spread far and wide, I wanted to illustrate something that spreads, scatters, and travels far – something like a dandelion! A silhouette of dandelion and its puff inside the soft, round-edged sans serif type expresses our tone and the message.
Milestone #1: Making Storybooks
Collaborate with student writers
The team initiated the call for student writers to participate in our project as a storybook writers, and we had the pleasure of connecting with several wonderful writers studying in the English school. We provided them with a rough guideline outlining the moral compass each story should have and paired each writer with a student illustrator or artist.
My Storybook – The Paper Hat
I also collaborated with the remarkable writer Jessie Kraemer to produce illustrations for her story, "The Paper Hat." The story highlights the perpetual love and connection that remains after the loss of loved ones. My illustration aimed to convey the tender, relatable characters and morals of the story.
Milestone #2: Generate Funds for Printing
Making Stationery Products
While storybook content was in development, the team and I also worked on creating illustrations and artworks that could be incorporated into various stationery products. We have made calendars, greeting cards, posters, notebooks, and wall clocks which we marketed online through our website and social media channels, as well as at student markets and local flea markets.
Fundraising and Marketing
In addition to the proceeds generated from these products, we successfully achieved our initial fundraising goal of $2,000 through an online fundraiser (GoFundMe). This funding allowed us to print 100 or more books in high-quality hardcover binding.
I played a significant role in producing explanatory and introductory videos, along with other marketing materials.
Milestone #3: Donating Storybooks
The team eventually produced four storybooks, all of which encapsulated messages of love and hope that remain throughout the hardships of life. We visited the local YMCA of Richmond in Virginia where they hold pre-school education for children in low-income families. Our team spent quality time reading our books in the classrooms, engaging in craft activities (we crafted newspaper hats during the reading session of "The Paper Hat"), and, in the end, distributed our storybooks to each and every child in the room.
Final Thoughts
This project evolved from a simple question: 'What can we do to help those in need while doing what we like?'. We began this journey with the hope of encouraging someone in need but did not expect the personal growth and fulfillment we would gain along the way.
While it's beyond our control to measure the exact impact our storybooks may have on the children who received them, I am confident of the accomplishments and experiences that have enriched my life throughout this project.
Though the project has (temporarily) concluded, the core idea of the project still lives in my heart, and remain eager to explore opportunities to initiate similar projects. Let's continue to dream and 'DO' your DREAM!