Dogs Trust case study
Dogs Trust
Dogs Trust - Wag! magazine and beyond
Dogs Trust is the UK's largest Dog welfare charity. Founded in 1891, Dogs Trust, formerly known as the NCDL, has always campaigned on dog-welfare related issues to ensure a safe and happy future for our four-legged friends.
Hold were invited to enter a 5 way pitch for the re-design of Wag!, the magazine for friends and supporters of Dogs Trust. The brief stated the magazines typical reader was a woman in her 40's, however, as the magazine has a large circulation the overall readership included a far wider audience. As well as the typical reader, families, couples and over 75's all enjoy reading about the work Dogs Trust do.
Our pitch needed to take into account the preferences of those who have supported Dogs Trust for many years, those who are new to the charity and the organisation's core values.
We began by researching into the charity sector and associated supporter magazines before producing a range of ideas from our findings. We suggested how the magazine could be moved forward but still cater for everyone's needs in a fresh and complementary manner. Our suggestions included creating a more distinctive and creative page layout. This was achieved by replacing and restricting the amount of different fonts used. The new fonts chosen were fresher and more distinctive and the typography overall became more creatively applied. The warm yellow brand colour was applied more expressively and complimentary tones of orange were introduced to create a more visually engaging design. Creative motifs and and graphic devices were introduced as an engaging way of expressing concepts and separating sections.
We were over the moon to be told a week or so later we had won the pitch and, after a debrief, we began the process of tweaking the designs into a finished solution.
Since winning the Wag! pitch we have gone on to design various publications for Dogs Trust. These include raising awareness on the negative effects of Puppy Farming, the 2008 and 2009 Annual Reviews and most recently the Dogs Trust Policy Briefing. The latter documents are distributed to MP's to petition on dog legislation issues. Our designs for the 2008 review have been included in the forthcoming design annual 'Designing For The Greater Good', due for publication winter 2009.
"Having worked with Anthony Oram of Hold for the past 2 and a half years I am pleased to say he has consistently produced design of the highest standard with the minimum of client-bothering. From understanding the initial brief to coming up with outstandingly creative ideas, Hold provide an excellent design service without the ego of a larger agency."
Deana Selby - Publications Editor
