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Charity Parkinson's Disease Society has rebranded as Parkinson's UK as it embarks on a five year plan to raise £110 million to boost awareness, fund research and find a cure for the progressive neurological disorder that affects one person in every 500.

The rebranding followed concerns that the public, doctors and other health consultants did not know enough either about the charity or Parkinson's.

Southwark based consultancy The Team was commissioned to create a new brand. Its research among the charity's stakeholders revealed that there were a variety of views on what it stood for. Parkinson's Disease Society, which was founded in 1969, was deemed old-fashioned, while its visual identity was seen as conservative and inconsistent.

Parkinson's UK was chosen, with the strapline Change attitudes. Find a cure. Join us. to highlight its mission and personality.

After testing three font options on the charity's audiences, The Team opted for a dedicated stencil font in the new branding which is also used for headlines, placard messages and expressive copy to grab people's attention.

Active and determined

The audiences felt that the stencil, which is used in cyan on a white background or white on a cyan background, brought out the charity's human side, but also reflected its brand values: short, simple, bold, bright and human.

Dan Dufor, consultant and charity specialist at The Team, explains: 'The new brand shows an active, passionate and determined charity, driven by people coming together. This wasn't just a visual identity and logo - it has helped the charity define its vision, mission and core values.'

The Team also introduced 'the frame' into the branding of Parkinson's UK. This is an angled border which is positioned at a three-degree angle, as if a rectangle has been quickly placed down on another surface, to illustrate that the charity is moving onwards and upwards. The frame is used in several ways, including to frame images, create space around its logo and, in layouts, to hold information.

The new brand puts people affected by Parkinson's at the heart of the campaign. Karen Brady, 47, who has young onset Parkinson's, was involved in the brand's development, and features in its photograph collections with her husband Gary holding the placard No one has to face Parkinson's alone.

She says: 'The photographs show the positive, friendly support that is there for everyone affected by Parkinson's. The general public know very little about Parkinson's and usually associate it with the elderly, but there are plenty of younger people with the condition, like me.'

The charity will now focus on three styles of photography: placard, portrait and real life. Only people affected by Parkinson's will feature in its photography, rather than models, holding placards with personal messages of hope and determination, such as Together we can beat this and A cure cannot wait.

Parkinson's UK has also changed its style of writing and will now use friendly, conversationalist and everyday language that everyone can understand. 'A good piece of writing will help people understand more about the charity and even inspire them to do something they haven't done before,' says Parkinson's UK.

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