From Scrappy to Strategic:

Building Upwards from the Ground Up

When I joined Upwards (formerly WeeCare) just months after the company rebranded, the new name was in place—but the visual identity hadn’t caught up. Flyers, decks, and digital materials were being created in Canva by non-designers, leading to a disjointed and inconsistent brand experience.

As the company’s first and only graphic designer, I led a full creative overhaul. I audited every touchpoint, established a cohesive brand system, and created scalable assets that brought professionalism and clarity to our messaging. This included rebuilding core templates, defining our visual language, and setting up processes and design standards that could support growth (& their very first brand guide!).

My work helped shape how Upwards showed up to parents, providers, employers, and government partners—and laid the foundation for a creative team to grow from that system.

What I walked Into:

Upwards was moving fast—and so was the collateral. Without a dedicated designer, teams relied on Canva, resulting in a mix of materials with inconsistent fonts, clashing colors, and no clear hierarchy.

For a company entering the corporate benefits space, the branding didn’t reflect the professionalism it needed. Much of it looked more like a community bulletin board than a boardroom presentation. My first priority was to bring consistency, clarity, and credibility to the brand.

The Brand Guide:

I created our (first ever) brand guide which established clear standards for color, typography, logo usage, iconography, and layout—designed to work seamlessly across print, digital, and product. Every element was crafted to reflect our mission: supportive, modern, and trustworthy. This foundation elevated our brand presence and gave teams across the company the tools to create confidently and consistently.

From Inconsistent to Intentional

This branding overhaul transformed how Upwards showed up to the world. What began as scattered, inconsistent collateral evolved into a unified system that elevated our credibility across audiences.

The templates and brand standards I created became the foundation for a growing creative team, enabling consistent, high-quality design at scale and helping position Upwards as a trusted leader in the care benefits space.