Transform Trade
Transform Trade is a global community of farmers, workers, collectives, campaigners, donors and supporters who work together for trade that values people over profit.
We partnered on
A complete rebrand including renaming, strategy and delivery.
Visual Brand includes
Logo and logomark
Brand guidelines
Social media assets
Illustrations
Iconography
Graphic devices
Colour
Typography
Stationery
Conference banners
Graphic packs
Verbal Brand includes
Naming
Strapline
Positioning statement
Purpose
Values
Phrasing
Tone of voice
Comms
Our team
Elizabeth Elcoate - Creative Director, Brand Strategist, Designer
Mike Williams from Civic - Project Lead, Brand Strategist, Writer
The challenge
Traidcraft Exchange was founded in 1986 as the charity arm of Traidcraft plc. The charity focuses on justice in trade, working with farmers and artisans in south Asia and Africa whilst advocating and campaigning in the UK.
In 2020 in the light of Black Lives Matter and a growing understanding of the colonial legacy of aid, Traidcraft Exchange carried out a strategic review which envisioned a radical shift away from well-intentioned traditional and top-down funding to reconfigure the charity as a truly participatory grant maker.
The new strategy represented a significant shift that required fresh thinking and new ideas. A key change that the strategic review had identified was the need for a name change.
Traidcraft Exchange also lacked a clear visual brand and narrative which hampered the organisations differentiation from its competitors and made it challenging for team members to create impactful communication and brand messaging.
Our work
We worked closely with team members, stakeholders, campaigners, and supporters for almost a year.
From early immersion meetings, naming workshops, stakeholder interviews, landscape and audience analysis in the early brand development stages, through to an entire redesign and positioning of the companies brand and messaging, focus groups, staff training and final launch.
The new name - Transform Trade - puts their purpose at its centre. And together with their strap ‘So everybody benefits’ clearly communicates their mission to work together as a global community of farmers, workers, collectives, campaigners, donors and supporters for trade that values people over profit.
The new visual brand is simple and confident with the logomark as its backbone, the elements and layout of which inform many other aspects of the Transform Trade visual identity and conceptually represents the work Transform Trade do.
The colour palette, typography, imagery and graphics all feel serious yet optimistic. There is a deliberate restraint to the entire brand in order to build brand recognition and centralise the communities and people at the heart of Transform Trade’s work.
Jon McNaughton, Head of Policy & Campaigns at Transform Trade says:
‘Your guidance and creativity has helped us take a step into the future. Our new brand is an excellent platform for change.’
Transform Trade now has a clear vision and purpose together with a visually eye catching, strong yet simple to execute brand and narrative language that reflects the values and mission of the organisation in 2024. Taking their lead from the people with direct experience of injustice in trade, Transform Trade partners with them to help change the system and create a better world.
Further projects
