Problem
Public confusion between charities in the field was making it difficult for people to find out about Breast Cancer Care’s services.
Response
The charity’s positioning was reviewed and a clearer and more distinctive visual identity and logo were created, which Breast Cancer Care staff can now implement in-house.
Result
The identity has proven adaptable to many uses and was ‘very warmly received’ by Breast Cancer Care’s corporate partners.
Breast Cancer Care is a provider of information, practical assistance and emotional support for anyone affected by breast cancer. But because there are a number of charities operating in this area, with different remits, there was some public confusion about the services offered by the organisation. In particular, some people thought it was an NHS-based campaign, partly because of the NHS-like blue in the charity’s previous visual identity. Breast Cancer Care’s logo also features a version of the pink ribbon, an internationally used symbol of breast cancer awareness.
‘The average person is probably aware of the pink ribbon as a symbol of breast cancer awareness and we have incorporated that into our identity, but there are other charities and organisations which do different things, such as scientific study, and we needed to be clearer about who we are,’ says Christina McGill, head of communications for Breast Cancer Care.
The organisation brought in identity and branding group Spencer du Bois which began by conducting interviews with users, stakeholders, trustees and directors. These conversations revealed that the brand could be positioned around the charity’s unique combination of staff with personal experience, offered alongside those with clinical expertise.
Central to Breast Cancer Care’s values are ‘empathy’, ‘evidence’ and the ‘individual’ and these three values are reflected in the three coloured stripes used in the visual identity. But perhaps more important is the way that the colour palette was adapted to allow more flexibility in the tone of communications. The previous bright pink was softened and colours such as teal and a muted orange were introduced to offer more visual options. At the same time, two fonts were selected to allow for different types of written material: Omnes is friendly and open, while Helvetica Neue delivers a more neutral tone.
‘Colour was very important. We understand that there is a “pink fog” around breast cancer awareness month and also that when people have been diagnosed they are feeling anything but pink,’ says McGill. ‘On the other hand, pink works really well as a colour when you’re trying to get people excited about events. So the introduction of other colours into the palette, such as the darker purple, gives it a bit more gravitas and weight. This has helped with the full range of what we do – from reports on the incurable stage of the disease, to inspiring people to take part in fun and exciting fundraising events.’
Spencer du Bois has given Breast Cancer Care a set of visual identity guidelines which the organisation is now able to implement in-house, using its own graphic designer and publications team. The guidelines are also used when working with other design agencies. ‘The new guidelines provide many more interesting and useful creative hooks than we had before and we have already made various permutations of the designs in-house for different events,’ says McGill. ‘It has also been very warmly received by many of our corporate partners, which is very important.’
Organisation type
Support charity
www.breastcancercare.org.uk
Graphic design services used
Brand development, identity, brand guidelines
Designers
Spencer du Bois www.spencerdubois.co.uk