The strategic challenge was that the ICO produces lots of communications materials to keep businesses and the public informed about a wide range of topics. It was clear that they had an inconsistent image across all their communications, regarding look, feel and message. We needed to help them achieve greater coherence between their marketing outputs – but, as we were working for a public body, it needed to be extremely practical and cost-effective, yet never dull.
Information is key
We felt it was only appropriate that the ICO should celebrate the information communicated. Our creative solution put the information centre stage – turning the message into their branding device – rather than hiding it behind glossy images. By writing headlines in a compelling and informative way, we allowed the ICO’s mission of ‘upholding information rights’ to shine through in every piece; this not only created a coherent image, but it was also brutally simple to implement, making it very cost effective.
By selecting universally available system fonts, Georgia and Verdana, a ruthless consistency essential to the strength of the ICO brand is possible. So no matter whether the design consultancy or an ICO staff member create a piece of work, it has the same universal look. We selected colours in the same inclusive fashion, so they display little difference when created in Pantone, CMYK or RGB — this means that whether printed in spot colours, full-colour process, digital, or online, the ICO looks consistent and professional.