Cystic fibrosis is: painful, life-threatening, genetic, incurable. The Cystic Fibrosis Trust rebrand simply is. The organisation’s new identity highlights the ‘is’ in ‘fibrosis’ as a means of raising awareness about the disease.

For many charities, raising awareness of their organisation is the primary objective of a rebrand. For the CF Trust, that was only part of the strategy. The other part had to address the general lack of knowledge about CF itself. The Trust sought not only to increase its intake of donations, but to change the way in which it communicates its purpose.

Ed Owen, CEO of the CF Trust, says, "We believe our new brand will help deliver more income for the charity, alongside our improved fundraising strategy. Other charities have proved that a well-articulated brand can produce greater fundraising results and in a competitive charity market, we believe we must make this investment to continue to make a difference for people living with cystic fibrosis." 

Johnson Banks, a London-based design agency, released the new identity this week. The design addresses the chronic misunderstanding of what cystic fibrosis actually is and what the charity does to aid those who are afflicted.

Michael Johnson, creative director at Johnson Banks, says, “Mid-way through the research stage we had a breakthrough when we noticed the “is” at the end of “fibrosis”. So we suggested the charity should activate the ‘is’ in their name with a series of statements, effectively forcing it to always explain what it is, does and why they are here.”

The hard-hitting new branding explores the people affected by the disease and the vast impact CF has on those people’s lives, all with a blend of graphic, handwritten and photographic imagery. The tone of voice was adapted to leave no truths uncovered about the seriousness of the disease. Yet, the identity itself presents that difficult information in an accessible manner.

For more on charities, see the cover story of our upcoming April issue, out soon on communicatemagazine.co.uk/onmyipad.