Creating a sub-brand for the British Liver Trust

Due to the charity's name, liver cancer is often perceived as an ‘add-on’ to what the British Liver Trust do, and many people are unaware that they are the main charity for those with liver cancer in the UK.

The brief

We were asked to develop a sub-brand for ‘Liver Cancer UK’ to sit under the main British Liver Trust brand. Under this sub-brand, they would be able to speak more clearly and directly to the audience seeking information and support relating to liver cancer; communicate their liver cancer messaging more effectively and compel people to act – whether that's donating money, fundraising or engaging in awareness activities; and to compete more effectively with other cancer charities, particularly those with an interest in liver cancer.

The design process

We carried out research into other liver health and cancer charities, to ensure this sub-brand would be different and memorable. We also held meetings with the British Liver Trust to discuss the functional and design aspects of the project, such as scope, content, audiences, competitors, positioning, values, mission, and messaging.

We created style boards to present three logo options with supporting visual identity concepts that included typography, colours, and any other design elements.

It was important that this was not a campaign but a distinct brand that could stand alone and provide information in its own right, so we retained the maroon colour of the main British Liver Trust branding as the basis for the Liver Cancer UK sub-brand. We introduced an emerald green – the colour of Liver Cancer Awareness, and the supporting palette was chosen to complement these two colours.

Many liver health charities use a variation of a ‘liver’ shape in their logo or branding, so it was decided early to avoid doing this. While considering shapes, we created a fluid loop that can be seen as a cursive ‘L’ or even a ‘C’, but also resembles an awareness ribbon. It’s soft, friendly and clear, reflecting the tone of the charity’s communications.

The loop in the logo became the basis for the icons. We designed two styles of icons – a continuous looping line, with and without solid colour fills. The loop shape was used to create dynamic shapes, informing the photo cropping devices and graphic elements. We presented examples of branded social media graphics, a brochure spread, a poster and a selection of website pages, to demonstrate how the sub-brand would roll out.

We created brand guidelines, to enable British Liver Trust to continue to implement their brand across new marketing materials.

Conclusions

We created a sub-brand that has synergy with the British Liver Trust, but can also stand on its own to engage with the liver cancer focussed audience.

The sub-brand was very well-received by the British Liver Trust’s, fundraising, finance, and legacy teams. The charity has taken the website pages that we designed, and built a site with impact and personality, which is a fantastic source of information and support for people affected by liver cancer.