Shoes of Wisdow Rebrand Case Study
Revamping the identity of a boy-child focused NGO
The Challenge
Ayanda Khubeka came to Base X Studio with a problem. She had been running this NGO since 2013 and needed to revamp the brand’s identity to something that would be more attractive and easier to sell. As she interfaced regularly with stakeholders and sponsors, she knew she needed to project a professional and clear image that would allow the NGO to be taken more seriously. Our mission was to revise the brand look and feel, create a new logo and develop clear brand assets that communicated what the brand was all about.
The Outcome
We dug into the essence of the Shoes of Wisdom brand, and designed a new identity that was balanced, clean and multi-layered. We then designed a highly effective website that helps to educate sponsors, volunteers and the general public about the NGO.
The Impact
Shoes of Wisdom now has a strong, aesthetically pleasing identity and assets that are enabling the founder, Ayanda to close more sponsorship deals and revamp the way the organisation operates.
The Process
Defining the Brand
At the foundation of every good creative work is a strong sense of strategy and understanding of identity. To this effect, we sat down with Ayanda to outline and understand what Shoes of Wisdom was really about. We learned about the history of the NGO and how it was founded by the late Shoes Moshoeu, a legendary footballer to help develop young boys into great men, game changers and leaders of tomorrow through a combination of sports, arts, and mentorship programmes. It also engaged in collection drives for shoes for the less privileged.
What we had on our hands was an NGO committed to grooming the boy child to be a game changer in his community and compliment the independent and strong girl child. An NGO that espoused the values of consciousness, self-development, humanity, discipline, respect and more.
The new identity had to reflect and embody this brand identity.
Designing the identity
There were certain elements about the existing logo that we found interesting and wanted to keep. The colours were strong and bold and had some brand equity so we decided to keep it. Shoes Moshoeu played soccer wearing the number 10, hence the significance of the number. The hexagonal shape of the ‘0’ was a clear reference to the patterns that bound a soccer ball.
How could we take these elements and rework them to something more cohesive and iconic? This was the basis of our initial explorations which coalenced into three potential directions for the brand.
Option 1
The first logo option draws its inspiration directly from the existing logo and its use of the hexagon. A floral arrangement is created with 3 pairs of feet which connect silmutaneously to 3 ideas – the idea of growth and flowering, the idea of fruits and seeds as well as the image of three boys standing back to back to back vigilant on every side.
Option 2
In the second option, stylized foot prints are used as the main icon. They are ambiguous enough to refer to seeds or feet. The amorphous nature of the blobs allow it to be deconstructed and recombined to form unique iconography with a common visual language.
Option 3
The final option combines the legacy of Shoes Moshoeu’s soccer career with the wings to form a Hermes-like soccer boot honouring the late founder and inspiring those who go through the NGO to rise up to new heights.
The Decision & Buildout
After some deliberation, the client decided to go with the first option as it retained more of the original brand identity and equity. From there, we built out the identity system applying the new look and feel across various collateral and touchpoints for the client to use moving forward.
Creating the Website
When Ayanda first approached us, she did not have a website, so as part of our exercise, we had to design and build a website that clearly communicated what her organization was all about. Using our process, we went from understanding what the site needed to communicate, to developing site maps, wireframes and layouts, all the way to its eventual development and deployment.
The Aftermath
Post-Launch
The new SOW brand has been out in the wild for the past year, and so far this is what Ayanda has to say about our work…
Oto’s work speaks volumes. He is a neat creative of note! A nonprofit sector intertwined with sports and arts is a world of its own. It often happens that individuals from the corporate sector misinterpret our passion-driven spin to the business culture.
Oto was able to understand my world and interpret it to the global standard, which left me feeling highly passionate about pursuing my vision. What I appreciate more, is that he was patient and handled different opinions professionally and with great respect. May he continue to SOW the seeds of wisdom.
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