Iconic Charity Guide Dogs Australia Rebrands, Via FutureBrand

Australia’s Most Trusted Charity Brand Guide Dogs Australia has rebranded under one logo and brand idea to strengthen the organisation’s presence, and better communicate the breadth of services it provides to people with low vision or blindness.

Building on the charity’s 60-year history, the new brand will better reflect how Guide Dogs services across the country have changed to support people living with low vision or blindness today – extending far beyond the brand’s iconic and much-loved namesake.

The new branding embraces the full breadth of Guide Dogs services under the overarching strategic idea of ‘Find your way’. It acknowledges that supporting someone through a change in vision – or their experience of long-term low vision – requires choice and flexibility.

The brand comes to life through a bright and optimistic colour palette which is supported by directional graphic patterns to add energy and movement across all branded touchpoints. A new direction on photography celebrates the sense of achievement found in everyday moments and the richness of human connection.

Ensuring the new brand was accessible to people with low vision or blindness was also an essential requirement.

“Every brand tells a story. Ours is much-loved, but it needs some new chapters to better highlight how we support people with low vision or blindness. Our beloved Guide Dogs will always be vital to our story, but now they’re part of a bigger picture.”

“Our new brand is modern, dynamic and impactful, and builds on the strength of our history and of all our offerings,” said Charlie Spendlove, Head of Marketing & Communications Centre of Excellence, Guide Dogs VIC NSW/ACT.

He added, “I salute FutureBrand for the outstanding work they delivered. The team worked tirelessly to thoroughly research and understand the goals we have for the Guide Dogs brand.”

“This diligence to detail and strong stakeholder management practice is reflected in the beautiful new visual identity and the overwhelmingly positive support we have received for the final product. We look forward to continuing our partnership with FutureBrand as we begin the rollout process.”

The Guide Dogs Australia rebrand includes logo and brand guidelines, and will be rolled out across all brand touchpoints, including a new website.

On working with Guide Dogs Australia, FutureBrand Australia CEO Rich Curtis said: “The more we immersed ourselves in the Guide Dogs Australia brand and experience, the more we heard about all the ways in which the organisation gives people who are blind or have low vision the freedom and independence to move through life and connect with the communities around them. So that’s where we placed the focus of the rebrand.”

“Guide Dogs Australia is not only an iconic brand, it’s also a very big one – an organisation with that kind of scale needs a brand that can flex and stretch across multiple products, services and stakeholders, both locally and nationally.”

“As a team, it was a privilege to work with the Guide Dogs team to rebrand an organisation that is trusted and loved by so many Australians, and to help build a framework for growth and innovation in the future.”

To uncover Guide Dogs Australia’s unifying brand idea, the team spoke to clients, employees, donors, volunteers and the community as part of comprehensive brand research and stakeholder management program.

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