Aid from the United Kingdom will now be branded more prominently with a new logo that features the U.K. flag and the text “from the British people.”
The new logo was introduced Monday (June 25) as part of the government’s effort to “drive home the message that Britain deserves credit for the results that U.K. aid delivers.”
“Some in the development community have been reluctant to ‘badge’ our aid with the Union Flag,” U.K. Secretary of State for International Development Andrew Mitchell said. “I disagree: I believe it is important that aid funded by the British people should be easily and clearly identified as coming from the U.K.”
The new logo will be gradually applied on products and supplies used in U.K.-funded humanitarian and development aid programs. All partners of the Department for International Development are required to use the new logo, which is now a “condition of accepting funding from DfID.” The DfID corporate logo will be retained but will only be for exclusive use of agency’s staff.
The design of the new logo appears in line with branding used by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which bears the colors of the U.S. flag and the text “From the American people.”
This is not the first time the United Kingdom has rebranded its aid to the developing world. In 2009, it started using a version of the U.K. aid logo that bears the government crest. This particular rebranding cost the department some 130,000 pounds ($202,434), which was taken from the agency’s central communications budget.
The new logo, meanwhile, was designed in-house at “no cost,” Mitchell said in an interview with BBC1.
Guidelines for use
Along with the launch of the new logo, DfID also published standards on when or where it should be used or applied:
On all of the agency’s communication materials.
On visuals used during events and on press releases.
Uniforms of staff involved in humanitarian operations.
Packaging of emergency aid supplies and on vehicles used to deliver aid.
At emergency aid distribution points.
On development program deliverables such as buildings, schools and roads.
Packaging of food aid, medical supplies and other smaller items.
DfID did identify a number of exceptions. For instance, use can be deferred if doing so poses a security risk to the agency’s staff and that of its partners or aid beneficiaries, obstructs humanitarian operations and when the branding could be undignified for the recipients of aid.
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About the author
Ivy Mungcal
As former senior staff writer, Ivy Mungcal contributed to several Devex publications. Her focus is on breaking news, and in particular on global aid reform and trends in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, and the Americas. Before joining Devex in 2009, Ivy produced specialized content for U.S. and U.K.-based business websites.
