“A lot of people don’t think that those with intellectual disabilities can go beyond what they think of us. I want to break that expectation.”

That’s the mission of Zinyra “Z” Ross, also known as Just Z, an artist, activist and motivational speaker who, along with her mother Simyra Ross, recently partnered with Maclyn to create a personal brand and a snazzy new website.

We worked with Just Z as part of our Lightbox Grant, a program in which Maclyn provides free marketing services to a deserving entrepreneur. In the past, we partnered with Ms. P’s Gluten Free, a Chicago-based business that nourishes communities with nutritious snacks.

Last year, after meeting Z and Simyra through Special Olympics Illinois, we fell in love with their story and knew that we wanted to bring Z’s dream brand to life.

“Free to Just Be Me”

Every brand starts with a good story, and Z has one of the most inspiring we’ve ever heard.

Check it out:

While sitting down with Z and Simyra for a Discovery session (an interview where we learn more about our clients and their businesses), we learned three things:

1.) Z had an amazing story to tell.

2.) She was on a mission to use it, along with her artwork, to inspire others.

3.) Our measure of success was how well we could capture her personality. Z has a winning attitude—she’s fun, she’s funny, she’s smart, and she has a delightful quirkiness that comes through in her artwork.

That meant we had an exciting (and tough!) job ahead of us: creating a brand that brings Z’s personality to life.

Orange Ponies & Cake’d-Up Mushrooms

We started with the basics: colors, typography and a simplified logo.

For Z’s colors, we leaned into pink, teal and purple. The pink and purple were inspired by her favorite colors. The teal, which is featured in some of her artwork and charms, helped balance her palette.

The typography was meant to feel approachable and whimsical, while also modern and professional, traits inspired by Z herself.

Z already had a logo featuring a self-portrait. Rather than reinventing it—why change a good thing?—we simplified the design while updating the colors and typography.

We also introduced a fresh word mark, which, like all good word marks, is distinct and readable.

Next up, we wrote a value proposition: a short statement that captures what Just Z is all about. For this, we drew inspiration from Z’s story while focusing on the powerful message behind her work.

Then, we took that message and boiled it down into a short, simple tagline:

Once Z approved these brand elements—and added her own personal spin—we brought them together to create a website that covers her motivational speaking, artist portfolio and jewelry business.

Z’s new site is modern, accessible and easy to navigate, while telling her story in a way that’s simple and impactful.

It also features an e-commerce shop, where buyers can browse Z’s charms and jewelry, including her fan-favorite Cake’d Up Mushrooms and Orange Ponies.

Wrapping Up

Our team loves how Z’s brand came together—with every element inspired by her personality, her story, her art and her mission—and we’re proud to support her.

Thank you, Z and Simyra, for the opportunity to partner with you on this project.

We’d also like to call out the Maclyn team members who helped bring it to life: Erin Ure, Abbey Bobzin, Kira Ryan, Ryan McBride, Troy Kelleher, Bill Murphy and Bill Vorhies.

To browse Just Z’s jewelry, view her portfolio or hire her for a speaking engagement, visit her website.

Z with Maclyn Partners Bill Murphy (left) and Bill Vorhies (right), celebrating “The Blue Water Dragon,” a painting that she created for Maclyn.