Funded by the public, for the public, NIHR works with everyone in our society to understand where the most urgent health and social care inequalities lie. Research can then be targeted to areas where it will make the biggest difference to peoples lives.
NIHR had grown vastly since their identity was created, as had their remit. Whilst work had been carried out to refine their positioning and messaging, their visual identity hadn't kept pace. A lack of tonal flex, a disconnect with their brand strategy and a sprawling brand architecture were leading to a brand that was difficult to understand externally and difficult to use internally.
Red Stone were brought on board to simplify and clarify the entire visual system – streamlining and rationalising their extensive brand architecture and creating an intuitive visual identity that could flex seamlessly everywhere.
Engagement
- Engaged and managed input from senior stakeholders throughout project
- Brand steering groups sessions
Discovery
- Workshops, interviews and analysis
Strategy
- Brand audit
- Brand architecture and identity matrix
Creative
- Visual identity system
- Brand messaging
- Logo development
- Typography, iconography and illustration
- Motion
Delivery
- Brand guidelines
- Comprehensive logo marque logo suite
- Templates reports, PowerPoint and posters
- Social assets
- Consulting and support on planning for brand rollout
Bringing order to architecture
One of the biggest challenges NIHR faced with their brand was a vast brand architecture that had grown organically. With over 170 different sub brand, scheme and services at play, all with their own logos and many with their own iteration of the identity, the landscape was inconsistent and increasingly difficult to manage.
We broke down every aspect of the existing architecture to bring much needed structure to the table. Built around a set of architecture principles, the new model focused on pouring more equity back into the core brand and drastically streamlining the number of brands and logos that have to be managed.
Conventions around structure, naming and usage make the model easier to use internally, whilst the new tiered model gives external audiences greater clarity on how every scheme and service relates back to the core brand.
Tonal flex. Foundational structure.
Central to the development was the need for greater tonal flex. The brand needed to be able to shift naturally from a highly technical to a deeply human tone. For this flex to work without becoming disjointed, we built a tonal scale underpinned by a consistent set of brand principles. Whatever tone the brand strikes, these 3 principles ensure consistency across every visual building block – from colour to type, to graphic assets.
Accessible
Whether it's a research report or a public facing campaign, every aspect of the identity has to hit rigorous accessibility standards at all times.
Expressive
Built around the belief that research doesn't need to be cold or dry, this principle ensures the brand has an energetic quality running through even the most functional touchpoints.
Purposeful
Every visual element has to earn its place and enhance the story NIHR want to tell. That means graphics should be additive not decorative and colour and type are used to set a tone and guide the audiences attention.
Bringing life to the line
With purpose in mind, the graphic language needed to feel like an inevitable part of the brands dna, rather than a decorative after thought.
The answer was found in the simple red line within the logo.
Previously just a functional graphic device, we brought it to life, as a visual metaphor for progress, humanity and forward momentum. The line runs informs every aspect of the identity system from functional icons through to expressive supergraphics.
Alongside a distinctive new approach to typography that shares a similar graphic approach and a flexible, accessible colour palette, the identity is both broader and more consistent in every way.
Driving forward for the future
The result is a brand with a renewed sense of clarity and confidence. A simplified architecture that builds strength in the core brand and a more accessible, more expressive, more purposeful identity system that gives NIHR the tools to effectively reach a wider public audience for the first time and expand the impact of their work.
