UCSF

UCSF

Since 2015, Elixir has supported the University of California, San Francisco in a variety of development efforts to entice donors to give. UCSF carries some complex brand challenges. To insiders—specifically those working in medicine or those who have needed medical attention, the institution is among the most highly regarded in the industrialized world. To everyone else, there is a lack of clarity about the basics. Those who know it to be a public university in the UC system with sole focus on the medical arts are in the minority. As a public institution, the need to fundraise is profound.

In 2022, Elixir created the brand identity, invitation, event graphics and collateral for an exclusive, two day summit in which leaders in neuroscience—doctors, scientists, and researchers—shared work around tackling disease, treating mental illness, and improving human life.

In early 2016, UCSF founded the Chancellor’s Circle as a core community of partners deeply committed to UCSF’s mission of advancing health care worldwide. Elixir was brought on board to create the invitation and materials for the Circle’s exclusive inaugural event. The team gravitated towards a commemorative 3-dimensional piece.

After extensive strategy work for UCSF Neurosciences, Elixir was asked to oversee the writing, design, and production of a compelling development piece for the department. An event invitation for this endeavor soon followed—with both pieces incorporating still imagery from the brain-activity simulations created at Adam Gazzaley’s innovative lab at UCSF.

As part of one of UCSF’s largest fundraising efforts, Elixir harnessed the campaign brand identity created by Propeller to design launch collateral. These efforts contributed to the incredible success of the campaign, which exceeded its goals.