Biskitz are a start-up charity based in South London supporting children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), specifically within that borough of Lewisham.
The trustee team at Biskitz commissioned Purple Banana to bring their new startup charity to life. Commissioning a brand strategy and verbal identity, combined with a visual identity.
As a start-up charity, we needed to maximise the Trustees’ availability to ensure they were able to support the creation of the brand strategy and visual identity. Through a series of sprints, we were able to co-create without lengthy turnaround times.
We crafted a brand strategy and verbal identity guidelines that resonated with the audience, emphasising inclusivity and empowerment and equipping the charity with clear, consistent messaging. By harmoniously balancing the visual and verbal aspects of the brand, we empowered the charity with a cohesive and compelling identity, enhancing outreach efforts, and establishing a meaningful connection with beneficiaries and stakeholders.
The charity was founded by parents from within Lewisham, and its focus is children and young people specifically within the borough. To ensure the brand was reflective of the local community, we ensured the visual identity choices were consistent with the needs of the children, young people and families of Lewisham.
The Biskitz logo was inspired by the use of Makaton and BSL within many SEND schools, featuring two hands as a nod to the tactile nature of the language. The hand-drawn feel to the lettering gives the logo a playful feel without sacrificing clarity, communicating the empathy, confidence and joy at the heart of the brand.
Recognising the importance of tangible communication in reaching target audiences, our design approach focused on creating an identity that translated seamlessly to various print media. The logo was crafted to be versatile, ensuring it remains sharp and impactful across different print sizes and materials. The colour palette carefully curated to evoke emotions while maintaining consistency in print reproduction.
Lewisham as a borough has 34k people who do not speak English as their first language. To ensure the brand was as accessible to those with limited or no English, we utilised three Google typefaces that have multilingual support for Lewisham’s diverse community. In particular, Noto Sans that natively supports many scripts, including Latin and extended Latin, Arabic, Cyrillic, Greek, Devanagari, Chinese, Korean, and more.
Studies show users with SEND have different responses to certain colours due to their potential to be overstimulating. This posed a challenge for developing a brand that will stand out and catch attention. To ensure accessibility and appeal, we created a bespoke palette of muted colours that were vibrant enough to inspire, whilst not overstimulating users.
We designed a brand pattern based on Makaton hand movements. With its rich vocabulary of symbolic gestures, it offered a wealth of inspiration for creating a visually engaging and inclusive pattern. The resulting brand pattern serves as a powerful visual representation of the brand's values, fostering a strong emotional connection with audiences and leaving a lasting impression of unity and understanding.
We created a comprehensive set of simple brand guidelines, complemented by easy-to-follow Canva templates. The instructions offer step-by-step guidance on logo usage, colour combinations, typography choices, and visual elements. The inclusion of Canva templates allows users of all design levels to effortlessly produce professional and on-brand materials. We aimed to foster a sense of creative independence while maintaining brand integrity, enabling the charity to deliver a consistent and visually appealing message across all platforms and communications.
Read what the EnviroEducation team thought about working with us.
“The team at Purple Banana did an amazing job of creating the new brand identity and website for Enviro Education website. We were all delighted with the way they produced exactly what we imagined - a website, and resource library that captured our youth-focussed mission. They worked brilliantly - listening to our goals, and putting together a top quality, well designed product. Thank you team Purple Banana !”
Susie Raimes
project co-ordinator
