Forward to 175: The Henry Davies Webster Charitable Fund 

Forward to 175 is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting families, caregivers, and researchers who are dealing with the unthinkable — a child diagnosed with cancer. Gretchen Webster started this foundation to honor her son, Henry, who passed away from a brain tumor at age 16.

The team at SARANKCO worked with Gretchen on the name, mission, positioning, tagline, and visual identity to bring her vision to life. To truly honor Henry we needed to get to know him so we had several conversations and working sessions that included looking at photos and other visuals supplied by Gretchen. Henry was autistic and a true individual. He had a passion for movies and in particular epic showdowns between heroes and villains. One of the special artifacts Gretchen shared with us was a ragged list, titled “My Favorite Villains Who Get Defeated.” It was clearly consulted and updated often and contained 174 typed and handwritten names. The name Forward to 175 speaks to our desire to add “cancer” as the next defeated villain on the list.

The logo and visual identity invoke superhero graphics and are paired with lighthearted, optimistic messaging. A dynamic lightning bolt gives the logos a playful sense of energy, celebrating the everyday heroes who are working to eradicate cancer as well as those who are supporting and caring for people affected by it. We also created a set of illustrated letters to be used as drop caps that captured the imagination of superhero powers, video games, toys, and other playful objects.