Catherine Brown Evaluation Services (CBES) is a Nebraska-based evaluation consultancy led by Catherine Brown, Ph.D., and founded on the belief that data, when done right, is a joyful and collaborative tool for positive change. CBES partners with nonprofit, philanthropic, and government-sector clients to assess the data they collect, facilitate alignment on what matters most, and build tools and systems that empower decision-making. With an emphasis on inclusion, compassion, and capacity-building, CBES helps mission-driven organizations move from confusion to clarity.

While the work CBES delivered was rigorous, thoughtful, and transformative, its previous visual identity told a different story. Designed quickly and patched together over time, the brand lacked the energy, polish, and personality that Catherine brought to every engagement. With federal policy changes shaking up funding structures across the sectors CBES served, Catherine knew it was time to lead by example, to show up with confidence, joy, and cohesion in a time when clarity matters most.

​In early 2025, Catherine made a decisive move amidst growing uncertainty in the healthcare and nonprofit funding landscape. “Even with, and maybe because of, our current environment,” she said, “it’s time to rebrand.” Her goal was twofold: to elevate CBES’s positioning from a solo consultant to a strategic partner, and to reimagine the brand as vibrant, inclusive, and unmistakably joyful.

 This wasn’t about trend-chasing. It was about creating a visual identity that could reflect what made CBES different: the depth of its thinking, the warmth of its approach, and the joyful clarity it brings to the most complex evaluation environments. Catherine was ready to lead, and her brand needed to reflect that.

She and I began with an intensive brand discovery process designed to surface what mattered most: how CBES made people feel and how we could translate that into a scalable, accessible, and strategic identity. Through competitive audits, collaborative working sessions, and iterative design reviews, we defined a creative direction that could balance rigor with warmth and professionalism with approachability.

Our process unfolded over four phases: discovery, creative direction, visual development, and finalization. Each step was shaped by collaboration. Catherine approached feedback with openness and thoughtfulness, intentionally weighing every decision, right down to the brand’s color palette. When concerns arose about magenta tones feeling too close to pink, I explored alternatives. In the end, she embraced the original palette, realizing how powerfully it contributed to the brand’s sense of energy, celebration, and accessibility.

The logo icon brings structure, symbolism, and joy into perfect alignment. Inspired by both data visualization and shape psychology, the mark is built from a rhythmic interplay of circles, squircles, and squares, each chosen for its deeper meaning. Circles evoke community, continuity, and the intuitive nature of human connection. Squares suggest trust, logic, and structure, foundations that CBES clients can depend on. Between them lies the squircle, a hybrid form that bridges emotional intelligence with analytical clarity. Arranged in a purposeful sequence that alternates shape order across rows, the icon becomes a visual metaphor for balanced collaboration, where intellect and empathy work in harmony, and every perspective has a place. From a distance, the icon evokes the radiant burst of a firework: a symbol of collective celebration, shared progress, and moments that matter. Much like the transformative insights that emerge through thoughtful evaluation, this firework-inspired form grabs attention not through spectacle but through meaning. It’s joyful, yes, but also intentional. It reflects the way CBES brings people together around data, turns abstract metrics into actionable insights to help organizations spark change from the inside out. More than a mark, it’s a message: data doesn’t have to be daunting. In the right hands, it can be a celebration of what’s possible.

A key brand illustration, a stylized radial burst chart, further evoked fireworks as a celebration of data, shared experiences, and moments of insight. Complemented by a suite of joyful, abstract illustrations, the new brand positions data not as something dry or overwhelming, but as something to be explored, understood, and embraced. The typographic system combines the expressive P22 Mackinac with the clean, modern Work Sans, adding clarity, personality, and hierarchy across every touchpoint. Every element of the brand was crafted with accessibility in mind, ensuring the identity could be inclusive to all audiences without sacrificing vibrancy. From the jewel-toned color palette to the custom data visualizations, the result is a brand that feels every bit as smart, thoughtful, and human as the organization it represents.

CBES emerged from the rebrand with a bold, joyful identity that reflects the values at the heart of its work. Catherine is now positioned to lead in a space too often dominated by corporate sameness and visual sterility. Her new brand doesn’t just say “trust us”; it shows the care, nuance, and intentionality that define every CBES engagement. With the rebrand complete, CBES is now equipped with the clarity, cohesion, and presence to expand its reach, deepen its impact, and continue building an evaluation ecosystem where data becomes a source of connection, not confusion. Website overhaul and brand launch coming later in 2025!

- Catherine Brown, Ph.D., Principal & Founder, CB Evaluation Services