Fold7Design has rebranded human trafficking charity Stop the Traffik, replacing its hand print logo and overhauling its entire visual identity to better reflect its current mission. Ahead of celebrating its 20th anniversary next year, the charity wanted to redesign to bring itself into the spotlight and convey its focus on prevention, rather than dealing so heavily in the aftermath. “If you can break the chain of human trafficking right before it starts, the issue will deflate in scale more rapidly,” explains Tom Munckton, creative director at Fold7Design. The charity’s use of technology, data and partnerships, to stop trafficking before it starts, was an inspiration to the design team. “‘Prevention focused, intelligence-led’ became a brand idea that encompassed this,” Tom adds.
The rebrand centres around the “stop arrow” symbol, an arrow that – significantly – points backwards, playing with a ubiquitous icon in a simple but recognisable way. “We’re used to seeing arrows used in branding everywhere – having us reach for the skies or pushing us positively forwards,” Tom continues. Here, instead, it speaks to the charity’s focus on prevention. “It’s quite arresting to turn it around and face backwards – re-focusing us on the ‘before’, not the ‘after’.” The logo is used in all sorts of ways: nestled into the word mark, uniting illustrations, providing a canvas for important taglines, or a container for partner brands, its adaptable form becoming a useful graphic device for the identity. More widely, the new logo alludes to the charity’s data-driven approach to tackling trafficking.
