Legal Action Center

LAC fights discrimination, builds health equity, and restores opportunities for people with criminal records, substance use disorders, and HIV/AIDS.

Service

Capabilities

Background

The Legal Action Center (LAC) fights discrimination, builds health equity, and restores opportunities for people affected by criminal records, substance use disorders, and HIV/AIDS. Hyperakt partnered with LAC on a brand refresh encompassing strategy, logo and visual identity, brand guidelines, and website design.

Visit lac.org

A group of people at a protest on the steps of a building, holding signs with messages like "Education Not Incarceration" and "Send Them to School, Not Jail." A speaker stands behind a podium addressing the crowd, surrounded by supporters and media.

The challenge

Decades of punitive drug and criminal justice policies left one in three Americans with criminal records and many lacking access to healthcare for addiction and mental health. LAC’s complex, multi-pronged work—spanning legal services, advocacy, litigation, training, and assistance—needed a clearer and more approachable brand story.

Image of a branding guide for the Legal Action Center. The left section details the typeface used, Tiempos and Effra, emphasizing their authoritative and clean nature. The right section displays a color palette with associated emotional tones like warmth, seriousness, and urgency.

The opportunity

This was a chance to clarify and amplify LAC’s impact through a more focused brand story and a modern, mission-driven visual identity. Hyperakt developed a new logo that visually represents upward progress and designed a digital presence that makes LAC’s work more accessible, legible, and engaging for its diverse audiences.

Infographic for Legal Action Center: $18M raised in 3 years before 2020 rebrand, $32M raised in 3 years after rebrand, 78% increase in donations, $18M net gain in donations.

Building a system

The triangle from the logo became the building block of Legal Action Center’s diverse icon set.

A grid of fifteen colorful abstract icons on a white background, featuring a mix of shapes such as triangles, circles, squares, lines, and symbols resembling graphs, presentations, medals, and play buttons.

We highlighted LAC’s unique focus on the intersection of justice and health through a visual frame that unifies different layers of the organization’s work. And the ticker-like pattern we created communicates the urgency of issues when necessary.

Cover of a report titled "Breaking Barriers. Defending Dignity." by the Legal Action Center. A person in the background holds a sign that says "JOBS NOT JAILS" during a protest. The cover is divided, with the top half featuring the image and the bottom half in red.

Three posters with the titles: "How to Recognize and Address Discrimination" (blue background), "Navigating the Hiring Process in New York" (yellow background), and "Health Insurance for Addiction and Mental Health Care" (red background). Each includes the phrase "Learn Your Rights!" and logos for LAC and NYS OASAS.

An open magazine on a yellow background. The left page features a photo of an adult holding a child. The right page has the title "Fighting Discrimination" in bold, followed by several paragraphs of text.

A purpose-first website

The new website was an opportunity to unveil LAC’s bold story. We started with their “why”, an emotionally-resonant, purpose-first articulation of their reason for being in the world. The website allows users to browse their complex work through the three lenses of Fighting Discrimination, Building Health Equity, and Restoring Opportunity.

A preview of a website split into three vertical sections against a red background. The sections showcase various articles, images, and menus with content about community actions, building equity, and current news. The central theme emphasizes defending dignity and opportunities.

Illustration of people assembling a large medical cross, symbolizing health equity. The web page of the Legal Action Center features navigation options, a "Donate" button, and sections on priorities like fighting discrimination and increasing opportunities.

The "Need Legal Help?" page is catered specifically to prospective clients and organizations seeking advice, counsel, or guidance. Whereas before, the organization felt more labyrinthine and difficult to approach, now, this page makes clear what services they provide, and how individuals and organizations can get in touch to get the help they need.

Two screenshots of a website. The left one features articles titled “Criminal Justice Involvement,” “Substance-Use Disorder,” and “HIV/AIDS Privacy Rights.” The right one shows a “Resources” section with various documents and videos on legal topics. A navigation bar appears at the top.

LAC’s new and improved resource library is a place where their clients and partners could browse decades worth of unique expertise in the form of publications, webinars, toolkits, and more.