In this interview with lead brand designer, Guy, we delve into the creative process, what it means to build “brands that inspire change” and the evolving role of branding in the social impact space.
Building brands that inspire change
You’ve worked across non-profits, design studios in Amsterdam and London, and now Soapbox. What drew you to focus on brand and visual identity in the first place?
Guy: Many of my roles over the years have been quite generalist – working on brand, campaigns, digital, social, print and everything in between. I even designed the exterior of a double-decker bus that was being turned into a community hub at one point.
This broad experience gave me a real understanding of how important brand is, in that it lays the foundations for everything else around it. If you’re working with a bad brand, it’s much harder to get good results. Working “client side” also really deepened my understanding of what a client actually needs – a brand is only successful if its team can use it.
I still love working on the implementation of a brand system, whether that’s overseeing it or actually designing. But for me, the real joy lies in creating the system and working collaboratively with our clients to find and then visualise the idea.
Image credit: Our rebrand of Action for Stammering Children boldly puts pride and confidence at the heart of the identity
At Soapbox, you talk about building “brands that inspire change.” What does that mean to you in practice?
Guy: All of the organisations that we work with, one way or another, inspire positive change. From a brand perspective, it’s our job to make sure that these organisations are seen, heard and understood.
On the visual side, that means compelling, accessible, engaging design that helps our clients to captivate their audiences and supports their messaging.
On the verbal side, that means portraying their purpose effectively (and again, accessibly), so that their audience understands what is being asked from them.
Underpinning all of this needs to be a solid idea – the brand core – that the organisation can rally around and that ties everything together.
Image credit: The driving idea behind our rebrand of sustainable developers, igloo – “celebrating character”
When you start a new brand project, where do you begin? How do you balance the organisation’s internal vision with what will resonate externally?
Guy: It all starts with understanding. We need to truly understand what the organisation does, how it does it differently to its competitors or peers, how it’s changing, where it wants to go, and a whole heap of other aspects. If it’s a rebrand or a brand refresh, we also need to understand what’s not working and the appetite for change.
Once we have that deep discovery, that’s where we can start to think about creative ways to solve the problems and answer the brief.
Image credit: Our ICCROM rebrand is deeply inspired by the physical textures seen during the site visit to Rome in the discovery phase
What’s different about designing a brand for a mission-driven organisation compared to, say, a commercial client?
Guy: The key difference is that, almost always, there is no “product”. What our clients are working towards is a better world. So while that’s much more powerful and important than commercial work, it isn’t as tangible and it isn’t as simple to communicate.
These are often big, complex subjects, filled with nuance and sensitivity, that need translating into understandable headlines and standout visuals, and that’s no easy task.
But it’s also one of the most enjoyable parts of the job, as there is so much learning that happens on each project – about the subjects themselves but also related rabbit holes where interesting metaphors might be found. For example, a recent project led me to reading quite extensively about the history of the fig.
Image credit: Phase one explorations testing out illustration styles for a brand project on community
Could you share a recent Soapbox project where brand identity played a critical role in helping the client reach or move their audience?
Guy: This is all of our projects, really. But our brand refresh for The Sutton Trust comes to mind.
The brief, in essence, was to create a workable brand system that would be easy to implement, fix inconsistencies and provide the flexibility required to speak to different audiences.
We worked hard to make sure that we answered this brief, but at the same time explored the emotional side of the brand, the idea behind the practical tools – in this case, the idea was “shape your future”.
The Sutton Trust ended up with a system that is not only practical, but that means something, and that helps them to communicate their message to their audiences.
Image credit: Part of The Sutton Trust’s new brand system – built upon the idea “shape your future”
How do you ensure consistency across all the places a brand “lives” — from social media to reports to in-person events?
Guy: We often work on the immediate roll-out of brand templates, as well as bespoke design pieces and/or launch campaigns, and we love to do this. But, ultimately, our brand projects are designed for our clients to take forward themselves.
It’s always exciting to see this play out, but we often have little or no control over the implementation of a brand, particularly over time.
For this reason, it’s important that the brand system is built with the end user (the client) in mind, and that the brand guide is clear (but not overwhelming) on how to use the assets. It has to have flexibility built in from the start. We also suggest “health checks” some time after a project has launched, where we can check-in with the client, work with them on key pieces, art direct their team or sometimes add to the guidelines as needed.
Real consistency comes from a true understanding of the system, so it’s also the responsibility of our clients to ensure that their team buys into the vision. Often we help with this, too, by presenting or co-presenting the work to the wider team.
Image credit: Our rebrand of The African Center for Equitable Development celebrates Africa on an upwards trajectory
What common mistakes do you see organisations making with their brands, and what advice would you give to avoid them?
Guy: I think the classic saying “buy cheap, buy twice” can apply here – the biggest mistake is not investing properly in the brand. Quick fixes that are not based on enough substance will only last so long, and poor or non-existent guidelines will often lead to disconnected interpretations of the brand.
The best project outcomes are built from deep engagement – and respect for the process – from both sides. We are lucky enough to have clients that understand this.
Image credit: Our redesign of Progressive Britain’s Progress Magazine focuses on sharp typography and structured layouts
How do you see the role of brand and visual identity evolving in the social impact space over the next few years?
Guy: In general, people’s visual literacy – and arguably, interest – in design continues to grow. It is not unusual now to see LinkedIn threads where the public weigh in heavily on rebrands – take the recent “Cracker Barrel” story in the US as just one example.
With this increased awareness and engagement, the optimist in me sees organisations understanding the value of their brand and being more willing to invest in it – building brands and visual identities with strong ideas behind them.
But I would also like to see organisations being brave, taking risks and standing out.
Being brave doesn’t have to mean neon colours and wacky fonts. It can mean having the confidence to go for what represents your brand and your message best, rather than what feels most comfortable or familiar in your sector.
Image credit: Details from our visual identity for UN Geneva’s Beyond Lab
Finally, what excites you most about leading brand creative work at Soapbox right now?
Guy: We have some really excellent projects with brave, inspiring, truly collaborative clients launching soon, so it will be great to get those out into the world and see what conversations they bring and the impact they’ll have for those organisations.