Australian Red Cross

Below: Before and After Images in Slide Show, Video, Summary, Credits

A branch of the world’s largest humanitarian movement, Australian Red Cross is a national icon. But the nature of giving had undergone a generational shift since the organization’s inception in 1914, and the sector was seeing young people much more motivated to contribute to specific causes. To feel involved, and see their impact.

Public sentiment towards donations was changing, and so was the kind of vulnerable Australian in need of the organisation’s support. More people were being affected by the effects of climate change, increasingly frequent natural disasters, inequality in the justice system and social inequalities such as technological divide. Red Cross needed to realign its focus to make the biggest impact. With brand at the foundation.

Offering extra value to social purpose organizations, the Principals Good Idea Foundation was the perfect fit for Red Cross. Principals engaged the broader team, from leadership to store-level volunteers. The resulting interviews revealed a truth about why people get involved — how they see their contribution as an expression of who they are and what they most value. We used this insight to develop the simple brand idea ‘We are what we do’, while our brand voice agency, XXVI, developed the complementary call to action, ‘Act for humanity’. Supporting this, we simplified the architecture and created a stripped-back, modern and minimal design, including a suite of strong and distinctive brand assets. Together, crafting a more powerful story about the impact of donation.

The refined minimalist approach leveraged the strength of one of the world’s most trusted brands and avoided the dilution that came with superfluous sub-brands. The refreshed brand builds on and codifies Red Cross’ fundamental principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity and universality. Transforming these principles into practice, and rallying staff and supporters to act for humanity.