A year in charity branding, 2022

As the festive season draws closer it’s time for my annual round up of charity branding.

Whilst most brand projects were put on hold during the pandemic, many charities have been updating their brands alongside a new strategy.

What’s more, many have managed to activate their brands with campaigns. So there’s plenty to talk about.

January

At the start of the year Save the Children announced it was dropping the Gill Sans typeface from its branding, designed by the paedophile artist Eric Gill. A brand is much more than just a logo, or typeface, but it goes to show the scrutiny charity brands come under.

Ramblers was the first rebrand of the year to represent a growing walking community. The new logo conveys ‘opening the way’ for everyone to enjoy the pleasures of walking on an open path. I particularly like the refreshing colour palette, made up of mint cake, granite, sunset, sunrise, clouds and rosy cheeks.

February

One of the things I like about my work trips to London is the opportunity to absorb advertising in action. So British Heart Foundation ’s “This is science fiction” campaign caught my eye. The campaign tells the stories of people who are alive thanks to donations powering medical breakthroughs that have transformed science fiction into reality. The campaign aesthetic nicely matched the Sci-Fi narrative.

March

The charity film awards took place in March. Our sector’s own version of the Oscars. As Shelter’s first brand manager it will always have a special place in my heart, so I was delighted to see their brand activation film “Fight for Home” scoop an award.

It’s been great to see the brand return to its campaigning roots, delivering gritty creative and an award for in-house agency of the year, under the leadership of the wonderful Helen Jones.

Charity brands certainly love a bespoke typeface, as well as ‘UK’ in the name. So along came another in March, as a result of a merger with Asthma & Lung UK. Signature work by Marina Willer and her brilliant team at Pentagram . Who doesn’t love a moving typeface that quite literally breathes???

April

Just like buses, Pentagram refreshed the animal welfare charity Woodgreen in short succession. Reminiscent of the Rhubarb and Custard animations of my youth, I would have liked the tone of voice to have had more ‘hooman’ authenticity. After all, I am a devoted “Doggy Daddy”, not just “their people”.

I love entrepreneurial spirit and compassionate leadership, so I applaud Julia Mazorodze from Hope and Homes for Children. A worthy Third Sector Award shortlisted project, there is a lot to like here.

Name change is a big step. We could debate the pros and cons of descriptive over abstract names until the cows come home. But the global development charity Send a Cow changed its name to Ripple Effect in April.

The charity said that it made the change because its name placed too much emphasis on UK donors and “no longer sits comfortably” with its focus on farmers in the regions where it works.

Richard Evans from Blood Cancer UK kindly shared his insights on name change in an honest blog two and half years after their own rebrand.

May

As somebody is living with dementia in my family the Dementia UK brand campaign spoke to me personally. Because dementia doesn’t just affect the person with the diagnosis – everyone around them, from family members to friends, is affected in some way too.

In the campaign video , you meet Hannah, Joanna and Fred – whose lives, and the lives of their families, have all been affected by their loved ones’ diagnosis. Carefully pitched, just right.

I’d been waiting for a charity rebrand to grab my attention and in May a colourful rebrand for gardening charity RHS bloomed.

Design Bridge injected energy back into the historic charity, including illustrations that reflect seasonal changes. Whilst Wunderman Thompson partnered to launch a new campaign, showing how the RHS can help gardeners to ‘speak plant ’. Both great pieces of work. But was the brand experience coherent enough across multiple touchpoints?

?June

Compared with other conditions, Diabetes had never been portrayed at scale before. The brand campaign ‘This is Diabetes’ from Diabetes UK changed that. Shared at the June Brand Breakfast on how to develop a brand campaign. Diabetes is often overshadowed by other conditions, so it was great to see how relentless it can be brought to life with humanity.

Keeping with the theme of human authenticity, Breast Cancer Now also launched a brand campaign, so more people know they’re the place to turn for anything and everything to do with breast cancer. The campaign featured 14 people behind Breast Cancer Now and how they’re here for people affected by breast cancer.

I sadly don’t know my father, but that didn’t stop me appreciating Prostate Cancer UK using Father’s Day as an emotional hook with a stark reminder of the disease's toll. The tearjerker #OdeToDads used a twist of the song He’s The One, complete with dad dancing.

July

Along came summer, and Asha and Co gave RSPB a respectful brand refresh with a bird’s eye view.

I might have been away for a couple of weeks, but a charity rebrand doesn’t get past me! Big Issue Group rebranded to help people living in poverty to earn, learn and thrive.

Whilst the ‘Branded House’ brand architecture system is a neat way to extend perceptions, the Group will have to invest in building understanding of what the Masterbrand stands for.

The “bullish” brand refresh of CALM in 2021 didn’t speak to me personally, as I found it too chaotic to be calming. But I really loved their summer “suicidal doesn’t always look suicidal ” brand campaign.

I was sorry to miss the photographic installation on the South Bank in London. The photos were amongst the last images taken of people who went on to die by suicide. A powerful demonstration of how a brand experience can still drive PR and word of mouth.

August

In August, Sky Creative rebranded the anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out , using type that looks like it’s been constructed from tape to speak to the organisation’s history of activism. The grassroots feel packs a punch and fits the brand persona.

September

Along came Autumn, and I spotted that Leukaemia UK had rebranded with The Clearing . Uniting research and care around the idea of “positively life changing”.

I like the futuristic vibe alongside the handwritten logotype to add a personal touch. But having recently completed market analysis for a health charity, I’m surprised by just how much orange is in the sector. Why is that?

October

In October, Prince’s Trust had me shouting “Hell, yeah” at their Class of Covid graduation speech brand campaign. It’s a brilliant demonstration of the power of spoken word.

Much like Mind’s campaign for Mental Health Awareness Week , which used poetry to reach out to people who don’t usually relate to mental health campaigns. A demonstration of Mind’s commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion since launching their new purpose and brand refresh.

Having worked on the Mind brand twice, in 2011 and 2021, I was thrilled not only to see the brand shortlisted for a Third Sector Award, but to make it into Marketing Week’s top ten brands of the year. Amazing!

The charity I Can became Speech and Language UK to make it clearer they help the 1.7 million children who face challenges in talking and understanding words. I love how the tone of the brand can easily flex through the illustrations. Cute, simple and effective. Great work by my friends and creative partners at Studio Texture .

October’s Brand Breakfast was on a subject very close to my own heart, aligning brand and strategy. So I was delighted to see Hillary Cross share the story of Rewilding Britain. I fondly recall how the rebrand made me want to crowd surf in my wellies when it was launched.

Keeping with the conservation theme, Greenpeace launched a new identity for its Common Power initiative, which aims to democratise energy and put it in the hands of local communities, with a shift from the fossil fuel economy to renewable energy. The identity embraces the visual language of activism with a positive spin.

Visual identities inspired by activism have been popular across the charity sector since my iconic rebrand of Parkinson’s UK with The Team in 2010, from Alzheimer’s Society to Extinction Rebellion.

At the tail end of a busy month, NSPCC also launched a reassuring identity for their Helpline. A “graphic lifeline” runs throughout, representing “a constant, ever-present source of support”. Graphic lines are currently very popular and have cropped up in a couple of my own projects with different creative partners.

November?

In November, Wolff Olins typography for the US non-profit Understood received a shoutout for fonts that will be popular in 2023: "It was brilliantly considered, tackling legibility head-on without compromising on brand distinctiveness”.

December

The shot gun to Christmas starts with the John Lewis advert. What’s noticeable this year is their long-term commitment to purpose, rather than it just feeling like an add on.

John Lewis is building a happier future for young people in care, from education and apprenticeships to speaking up for fairer policies. A great demonstration of a purposeful partnership. More please.

I’ve had a bumper year with a new brand just launching to multiply generosity for the match funding charity Big Give . More to follow in the New Year, so watch this space.

I’ve been really enjoying working with Fauna & Flora International (the world’s first international conservation charity), Penny Brohn UK (a cancer health and wellbeing charity) and Hft (a learning disability charity), so can’t wait to share them with you.

Muscular Dystrophy UK and ShelterBox are in progress, with Kids and Sands on the horizon.

I am very grateful for every opportunity and delighted I can harness the power of brand purpose to improve our world. So as the sun sets on another year, keep up the great work. Rest well and merry Christmas.?