Design For Good

Lisa Hassell reveals how designers are using their creative talent to make a difference and raise awareness for social causes

- Lisa Hassell

Now more than ever, designers recognize the importance of turning their hand to become a real force for good. Put into practice, it can enrich your agency and the work you do. A real emotional investment is often at the core – working with charities can be fulfilling and rewarding in ways that commercial work simply isn’t.

Creative studios of all sizes can make an effort to include charity work in their remit, and those that do it well are quite vocal about it. Commercial agencies will always have one eye on the bottom line, and it can be difficult to identify which charities or social causes are a good fit for your team. Yet the knowledge that you’re making a real difference can be the catalyst for producing your best work.

“It’s always motivating to work with organizations that are driven by doing more than just feeding their bottom line,” says Jonathan Hubbard, creative director at London-based agency The Clearing. “The charity sector has interesting challenges. It’s very congested, which means that charities have to be very clear about who they are, what they do and why they exist if they’re going to connect with supporters, partners, and colleagues. Brand is vital in the charity sector.”

Hubbard believes that to really work, charity brands have to create an emotional connection to their audiences. “They have to be clear about their cause, their vision and the problem they’re here to fix. They need to be built from a strong and motivating idea and have a soul. Charities used to operate their brands in a traditional ‘command and control’ way. Today, they need to be able to give control to anyone who wants to engage with the brand.”

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