With Grit and Grace
Last fall, my sister, Ellie DeGroote, received a call with a nomination to run for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society's Visionary of the Year for the DC Metro Area. Without hesitation, she accepted the nomination to honor our mom’s fight and give back to an organization that gave us the priceless gift of more time together.
In a similar manner to how she accepted her nomination, she wasted no time recruiting her favorite free marketing resource… me! I’m so proud to share a glimpse of the work I poured into her campaign. I hope you enjoy seeing how we celebrated my mom’s fight and Ellie’s incredible effort to make a difference.
At the beginning of her campaign, Ellie approached me to design a logo for her team, "With Grit and Grace." However, my sister did not give me any design direction; I had free rein on the project. Depending on your creative type, you're either jumping for joy or punching the air in this situation. I was about 50/50. Without direction, my work was inspired by something I knew well and witnessed: my mother's cancer battle.
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Throughout my mother's battle with Stage 2 Non-Hodgkins Large Diffuse B-Cell Lymphoma, she carried herself with grace while fighting with the utmost grit. These two things defined my mother's battle, later becoming the name of Ellie's campaign and my inspiration for her logo.
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I began my sketches for the logo, wanting to capture the essence of my mom's fight—the balance of her grit and grace, where one is not found without the other. The coexistence of these qualities reminded me of the symbol of yin and yang, which inspired my sketches below.
The Story Behind the Logo
When I started drafting the logo, I wanted it to capture the essence of my mom’s fight against the blood cancer. It was all about the balance of her grit and grace, which always went hand in hand. This coexistence reminded me of the yin and yang symbol, which inspired the mockups you’ll see to the right.
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To answer to common questions:
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Why the gradient? That's a logo design no no...
I know, I know. It’s not always the designer’s favorite move, but once the idea came to mind, I had to see it through. Sometimes you bend the rules for a reason.
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It took you 30 minutes to choose a font?
Yes, I had the time. Font has personality. The look needed to match the energy of the campaign: bold but also clean and simple. I'd say every minute was worth it.
Creating the Symbol
of Her Strength
The Final Product
After sharing the mockups with Ellie, she immediately gravitated toward the design below. It felt true to our vision and perfectly captured the balance we wanted to honor. I might be biased, but I’d say her idea turned out pretty great.​
On March 20th, the competition kicked off and my sister launched her campaign for LLS Visionary of the Year. As part of her effort to raise the most money possible, she wanted to give potential donors a clear guide to the different levels of sponsorship and participation for her big fundraising event, Pickleball for a Purpose. Creating this guide became my next task in the campaign. Below, you’ll find the finished document.
Time to Start Raising Money
On May 1st, 2025, Ellie hosted a Pickleball Tournament to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through a fun, friendly competition. To promote the event, she asked me to design posters that could be shared in an email blast and posted on social media. The poster on the left is the one Ellie chose to share, but the other designs were available for her team to use as well. Click each image to take a closer look.
Pickleball for a Purpose
All great events need a good t-shirt. I simplified the poster design above to create a t-shirt design for the tournament.
From Screen to Screen Press
Want to see more of my photography?
Before the campaign’s final event, I put together a highlight reel of the Pickleball Tournament to give everything one last push before the Gala. The video offers a glimpse into Ellie’s event while reminding viewers who they’re supporting and creating that final spark of urgency to donate. The Putaway, the pickleball facility that hosted the tournament, even joined the conversation by commenting and accepted our collaboration request, helping us share the video with a whole new audience. Hit play, feel the moments, and enjoy!