EVENTS & NEWS
Aspire Launches New Logo and Brand
Welcome to the new Aspire! We think our new brand and logo offers a fresh reflection on our mission and who we are. At the same time, we’re still the family-focused organization started almost 50 years ago. We are still indebted to our founding families who met in a church basement to talk about how best to help their children with disabilities reach their potential and lifelong dreams. And we’re still a living testament to our name – aspiring to assist more than 1,000 children and adults with disabilities.
Logo Explained
We believe our core values are reflected in the tagline above the word Aspire. The “i” in Aspire represents a person reaching upward, symbolizing our program participants, families and staff, who aspire to do more. Those three little words – “Building Futures Together” – say it best. They look forward to future accomplishments, and honor the fact that our mission can be accomplished only with the help of our families and friends.
Reflecting Tradition
We put a lot of thought into this new logo and brand identity because we want to make sure they reflect who we are and where we’ve been. We’re an organization that is widely regarded as a leader in the field of developmental disabilities in Illinois. With headquarters in Westchester, Aspire operates 23 facilities and has a team of 400 staff who provide meaningful, goal-oriented services to children and adults with developmental disabilities. We are proud of our participants’ personal goals, whether it’s a child taking his first step, an adult getting a first job, or a participant succeeding at a simple daily living skill. Finally, “aspire” best illustrates our reaching, dreaming, and driving mission which makes our organization unique.
The Process
Several months ago, we met with family members, board members, community members and staff to discuss those distinctive core values that Aspire reflects:
- The compassion and caring of a dedicated employee team;
- Innovative services that anticipate and respond to our participants’ needs;
- Our commitment to be a leader in developmental disabilities.
We then worked with a graphic designer who came up with more than 25 concepts. We went back to our core group, and many other family and staff members, and got feedback on those concepts, asking, “Does this say who Aspire is and what we do?” Over time, and thanks to our volunteers’ efforts, we came up with the logo and tagline language you see today. Even the process of developing a new look for Aspire represented our philosophy of families, friends and staff banding together to get the job done. That sense of togetherness and family has always been a big part of Aspire and who we are. We will continue to work together to dream big, to rise up and to soar.
