Branch – Branding a new housing charity

Superfried design studio were approached to develop the branding for a new housing charity. The non-profit would be working with Councils to provide rented accommodation for key workers, people seeking a modest rent, older citizens and those needing care and support with adapted homes to meet their needs. During the discovery phase it became apparent the client had a name in place, however it was felt from the perspective of brand strategy this option would not be effective. A re-name was proposed and the client was receptive, leading to the development of a stronger solution – Branch Housing – which now appropriately connected with the idea of protection. Working on the marque, ideas using a tree and conveying a home were explored. The triangular roof was obvious, but the magic appeared via the use of negative space to reveal the trunk as the door. Moving onto the typography for the logotype, I liked the idea of lettering that felt strong / structural, whilst simultaneously approachable / caring. Consequently, a slab serif was selected as a base upon which bespoke modifications were applied to soften the feel. Since Branch is a charity, with budgets restricted Zilla, a freely available slab serif type family was proposed. For environmental / economic benefits their aim was to remain digital and paperless. This provided the freedom of an RGB gamut and greater flexibility. The branding would need to connect with two user groups – stakeholders and end users. Consequently, the subsequent palette was developed to enable marketing material to go bold and vibrant or be reversed for more sober, corporate messaging. Lastly, graphic devices were created to enable simple styling to convey the identity and control the layout of content across all mediums. – https://www.superfried.com/projects/identity/branch-housing/ https://www.superfried.com