Branding Charity

I’ve been here for over a year now and I’m so impressed with the amount that businesses do for the local community and charities generally – compared to the UK.

And as a designer it’s something I’ve always felt very strongly about – it’s so easy for a designer to make a huge difference. Most charities operate with virtually no marketing budget and as a result their promotion is usually amateur at best. Back in the UK, I used to aim to work with one charity at a time, to help them get their branding into shape. I did this for free, figuring my services would have a far greater impact than a cash donation in the longer term. Take a look at http://www.focusbirmingham.org.uk/ for the latest charity rebrand. “Birmingham Focus” [as they were] support people with visual impairments and other disabilities to live independent lives. Although really well known locally, the name “Birmingham Focus” sounded like they were an organization focusing on the City of Birmingham. As they expanded out of the area this caused them other issues. I switched the name to “Focus Birmingham” allowing “Focus Anywhere” and designed them a new logo based on the Braile “F” and a bespoke font, created and tested specifically for legibility, together with new literature grids etc. I was pleased to see they have since had a new website designed too.

Before that I helped a Charity called Second City, Second Chance rebrand to Step:Up [ see http://www.bland-id.co.uk/portfolio/stepUpfolio.html ]

So, to get to the point. I’m short of a charity to help. And that makes me fidgety. So does anyone out there know of a good and deserving charity that would really benefit from a rebrand or some marketing advice at least? It’s a point to note that neither Step:Up or Focus knew they had branding issues. How/why should they? It’s also worth noting that in both cases their awareness has increased by over 25% in the year that followed the rebrand.

Please get in touch. I want to do my bit.