Paws For Hope
branding, layout, print
After successfully working with Paws for Hope on their “Pets are are not Products” 2013 holiday campaign, Paws for Hope contacted me a few weeks later to help them with their brand overhaul. Paw’s for Hope has many big plans for building sustainable animal welfare in BC, but their old brand was not consistent or in sync with what they stood for; it felt dated, soft and passive and didn’t capture the attention of their target market or look professional.
In order to step up their game Paws for Hope was looking for a new, modern and bold brand. Dealing with many government officials it was important they look credible, successful and established. Their current market was mostly a feminine middle aged one. Paws for Hope was ready to broaden their reach by freshening things up, appealing to a younger, as well as male market.
Wanting to stand out in an over-saturated market of animal welfare it was really important that the new logo not include your stereotypical colours or icons, such as paws or animal silhouettes. Although focusing mostly on cats, dogs and rabbits at the moment this could easily change for Paws for Hope in the future, especially since they are looking to grow into a stable foundation, of which many other charities and brands will branch off of in the future.
We decided to create a logo which is mostly a word mark, containing a bold and strong typeface with rounded friendly edges. In order to tie in the pet element in a non-conventional way the work mark is placed in a hexagon, resembling a pet tag. In a subtle manner the hexagon also resembles a stop sign, which is more likely to catch your eye. The simplicity and contrast of placing the type in this shape makes the logo stand out amongst a crowd of competitors. Keeping some of the original brands roots in place we decided to keep the turquoise, which has been used in relation to Paws for Hope since the beginning. It is not a standard common blue and makes the brand more unique. Paws for Hope has no intensions of being an aggressive brand, however it deals with many sensitive subjects and does need to capture the audiences attention. Since the turquoise is on the soft side of the colour scheme we paired it with a deep orange that shines bright and loud.
Paws for Hope is still a very young brand but it now has a look and personality that matches it’s vision and goals. With bold type, sturdy shapes and lively colour schemes the brand will continue growing strong in years to come.
The present state of the brand may have been modified from it’s original design and as such may no longer represent the original concept. Shown below is the original re-brand. The animal pictures below are for placeholder only and do not belong to Paws for Hope.
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