The Commit Partnership is a Dallas-based collective impact organization working to eliminate  economic inequity through education. By collaborating with schools, higher education  institutions, government leaders, nonprofits, and businesses, Commit helps ensure every  student has the opportunity to earn a living wage.  

Commit’s small but mighty Communications team supports almost a dozen departments and  initiatives, crafting messaging and content that spans data dashboards, internal comms, video  storytelling, and public awareness campaigns.  

Commit’s Communication team was under the umbrella of Shared Services, providing design, messaging, technical, and analytical support as needed across the organization. While they had the ability to tackle design tasks, finding time  to create assets, hunt down brand kits, relearn tools, and navigate feedback loops made design  feel more like a chore than a creative process. They were stuck in reactive mode, with no space to push campaigns forward.  

“We were in a much more reactive place, unable to truly generate innovative  projects and campaigns because we were playing catch-up.” 

 — Adrien Palmer, Communications Manager  

Hiring more staff was an option, but difficult given the variety of technical skills and experience required. They often hired contractors for bigger projects but still needed someone in office for time-sensitive requests and to build more efficient, repeatable processes.

In April 2024, Commit partnered with Design Pickle to meet growing creative demand without  hiring additional team members. What started as a design support solution quickly evolved into  a platform for cross-team empowerment.  

Design capacity without the overhead 

With over 600 design requests completed to date, teams across Commit now produce quality  content faster and with far less friction. As a power user, Commit benefits from eight hours of  design time per day, giving them the flexibility to take on ambitious creative projects that once  felt out of reach.  

Operational integration 

Design Pickle became a seamless part of daily operations. Many teams appointed a dedicated liaison to manage their own design requests. This freed up the communications team to focus  on strategy, storytelling, and amplification.  

Bringing complex ideas to life 

One of Commit’s biggest wins was a long-envisioned project: supplementing their complex data dashboards (rich in insights on education, workforce, and social issues) into accessible explainer videos to help a broader audience understand how to interact with these powerful tools. 

Ongoing support and evolution 

Commit has also praised the personalized guidance from their Customer Success Manager,  who proactively offers tailored recommendations to help them grow. They’ve highlighted Design Pickle product team’s consistent improvements to the platform as another factor enabling them to work more  efficiently with each update.  

By partnering with Design Pickle, Commit unlocked both time and cost savings.  

They saved over $185,000 annually as well as countless hours managing, onboarding, and equipping in-house designers and contractors.  

More importantly, they reclaimed over 215 hours of design time with just their explainer videos alone. What would have once taken weeks, or been shelved entirely, can now be completed in under 8 hours per video with their Design Pickle team. With 25 more videos  planned, Commit will continue to see significant returns on their investment.  

For Commit, creative support now scales across more than five departments, with liaisons managing their  own requests and keeping workflows moving.  

Adrien emphasizes the importance of clarity and creative communication.  

“Make sure you have someone who speaks ‘designer’ or ‘creative.’ If you give them  the right direction, odds are you’ll get back what you need—and more.”

By embedding Design Pickle into their operations, Commit has transformed how they communicate, collaborate, and drive impact. What was once a time-consuming process is now a reliable engine, enabling teams to move faster and deliver meaningful work across the organization.

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