Brand Union Unveils Identity for Race Against Dementia

Brand Union has created the brand identity for Formula 1 legend Sir Jackie Stewart’s new charity, Race Against Dementia.

Motivated by the diagnosis of his wife Helen, Sir Jackie’s foundation, which has just launched, is aimed at funding research towards a cure for dementia while also searching for preventative medicine.

WPP’s global brand strategy and design agency, Brand Union, was appointed by Sir Jackie to develop a clear positioning; name and visual identity for the brand that would help him achieve his ambition.

“Building on Sir Jackie’s desire to fuel his project with the energy of Formula 1; Brand Union began by creating the name Race Against Dementia, bridging the gap between Sir Jackie’s past and the urgency of the charitable cause,” explain the designers. “The second stage involved creating a bold brand identity that is memorable, disruptive and expresses the charity’s story. The new logo for the brand is the distillation of this identity: a deliberate and graphic fragmentation of the letter D that highlights the distortion and disorientation experienced by those suffering from dementia, whilst also harnessing the speed and thrill of motorsport.”

Alongside this, Brand Union developed a visual language that will provide a foundation for the whole brand. This includes a custom-designed typeface (named ‘Helen’) created in partnership with font foundry Colophon, that expresses the visual fragmentation of the logo; a toolkit for photographic treatment using an archive of photos from Sir Jackie and Lady Helen’s life; and a colour palette that picks up Sir Jackie’s Scottish Heritage and the colour of his cars, so-called “French Racing Blue”.

Brand Union
www.brandunion.com