About the Client
Tegans Butterflies in Paradise is a Charity based in Derby who provide support for families with children and young adults with special needs. They began in 2016 as parents supporting other parents in the same kind of situation.
Previously it had been "The Charnwood Group" which was a council run support group for pre school children with down syndrome. After that group closed, Tegans Butterflies in Paradise was born, with a slightly different vision. They now wanted to cater to more children.
Tegans Butterflies in Paradise has regular meetups and offers support and advice to parents through their active facebook page. When I approached tha charity, they did have an existing website which was ok, but I felt that it would benefit from a professional polish.
I met with Rachel, who is on the board of trustees and we talked about the struggles the charity has and the kind of things that would help. Being a parent of a child with special needs, I have a thorough understanding of what its like to work, while managing a childs special needs.
Challenges with Rebranding a Charity
A common set of problems for small to medium charities, which Tegans Butterflies in Paradise share, is about their scale. Because they exist on a smaller scale, there can be difficulties with things like, budget limitations, competition with larger charities and resource allocation. By resource allocation I mean that there is a small group of volunteers, doing their best, but they also have families and full time jobs.
Because there is little or no brand awareness, its is very difficult to get trust with the public and secure donations.
Their existing logo was built around a photo of Tegan. She is the little girl with downs syndrome, who sadly passed away. This charity is her legacy, so it has to be handled sensitively.
The solution to a lot of these problems is to build a brand, then work at it and grow the charity so they can afford to employ full time staff, advertise more and attract more lucrative corporate sponsors.
We started by looking at the competition in the area, then deciding where the brand wants to be in the future. We would continue to build it around the Memory of Tegan. The theme would always be parents helping parents.
We would use their active facebook community as a platform to grow the brand and find alternate ways to raise funds.
The New Logo
The new logo was a dramatic departure from the old logo. One of the mums in the charity had put the old logo together and tried to include all of the elements of the title, so it was a bit busy. We used some of the elements of the existing logo, namely tegan and the butterflies.
Rather than a photo, I drew a lineart illustration of Tegan, with a focus on simplifying the image so its easier on the eye. Tegan is placed near the top left corner of the logo to emphasise her importance to the charity. The flurry of butterflies trails off to the right to give a suggestion of "going to paradise".
To get the balance right with the images, I offest the balance of the text. The font and colour combination were chosen to give the right connotations for this charity.
Tegans Butterflies Website
Even though the charities' online efforts are focused on their social media, a well-made and polished website would still serve them well.
As much as anything else, it helps to establish an air of legitimacy. Having somewhere that people can go, see the registered charity number and some contact details will really help people to feel reassured and engage in a positive way.
It is also a platform to generate more revenue. With a new site, we were able to create the online donations form and the merchandising section. These require no effort on the part of the trustees of the charity as I handle these as part of my ongoing agreement with the charity.
To see the site for yourself, click here.
Brand Design for Charity
I approached Tegans Butterflies in Paradise and proposed a monthly arrangement where I reserve time for them, so I can maintain their site and make any adjustments they may need. Every once in a while I will update their events page for example.
This has lead to a stress free relationship, where Rachel will ask me to do a thing and I will do the thing. More than having us on a retainer means that we are there to generate any imagery that Tegans Butterflies may need, ensuring brand consistency and brand recognition.
*Ongoing maintenance - This is more than fixing the site when it goes down. Allow us to explain what this service includes:
- Checking your site every week day for any updates and security or technical issues
- Making small changes to the site, like updating events for your charity, or making changes to text.
- Reviewing site performance over time and making adjustments accordingly.
What Rachel says about our service
In 2021 Andrew redesigned our charity website and logo. He now maintains and updates the website on our behalf. The difference between our old website and logo and Andrews new design is amazing. I have always found Andrew approachable and open to any ideas or suggestions we have. I would highly recommend his services.
Conclusion
This project was all about getting the right feeling so the target audience understand what the new brand means and what Tegans butterflies are trying to do. The new brand delivers this and will encourage more corporate sponsors in the future.
Branding for Tegans Butterflies in Paradise was a pleasure. We are still very much working together to try and raise the profile of the charity and that is work that will continue for some time.
Contact us
If you have any questions about what we do or would like to know more, then send a message and we'll get back to you. We are always willing to offer help and advice with any kind of branding or design situation.
We are open for business during normal office hours.