Some collaborations just click. That’s how it was with Rainbow Railroad. Their mission—to help LGBTQ+ people escape persecution and find safety—is urgent, essential, and deeply human. And from the moment we started working together, we knew our job wasn’t just to make things look good. It was to make sure their brand worked as hard as they do.
For years, we were more than a design studio—we were their creative partner. We started with deep listening, really getting to know who they are and what they stand for. From there, we shaped their visual identity, designed sub-brands for their fundraising events, created printed annual reports, and even helped craft their TED Talk slides. With every project, our goal was to build a brand that didn’t just look beautiful but evolved with them, helping them do their work better.
“Harc helped us level up.”
As Dane Bland, Rainbow Railroad’s former Head of Development, put it:
“One of the great things about building a relationship with a creative agency is that it helped us really level up our branding and design work. The great thing about Harc is that they don’t just consider what we’re working on in the moment—but how we can use our collective efforts to build our brand on an ongoing basis.”
That long-term thinking was at the heart of our collaboration. We weren’t just designing for today—we were helping set them up for the future.
A Creative Partnership Built on Trust
When you work with a team for years, trust becomes everything. For Rainbow Railroad, knowing that they could hand us a project and feel confident in the outcome made all the difference.
“It’s rare to work with a group of people who are just consistently positive, delightful, and excited to jump right in,” Dane said. “We always knew where things stood, and we knew that when we got something back, it was going to be high quality. That inspired confidence across our entire organization.”
That trust made our work together special—and made it possible to create a brand that was as strong, resilient, and future-focused as the organization itself.
