National Women’s Council Identity

Founded in 1973, the National Women’s Council has supported a number of milestones for gender equality in Ireland, most recently the repeal of the Eighth Amendment. In 2020 they conducted a review of their existing identity to establish whether it still accurately represented and supported the organisation and its work. It emerged that as a long-standing organisation at the forefront of social change for many years, NWC needed a new identity which would reflect and speak to the changing Ireland in which they were operating. This would be our key challenge: how could we capture an organisation that is defined by its dedication and achievements, but also by its ongoing evolution and appetite for change? This identity refresh would have to imagine an Ireland with progressive values, youthful ambition and increasing momentum; and inspire individuals and groups to come on that journey with them.

We began by exploring visual routes that explored core themes from the creative brief, including figurative styles, typographic styles and more abstract styles. We wanted to make sure we balanced the different elements of the NWC character in the design in order to create an identity that would be authentic and true to them. We also experimented with permutations of the name itself. Previously known as the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI), the name was updated to the National Women’s Council.

Eventually we landed on a flexible, creative typographic design that put the ‘W’ of Women in the centre of the new identity. The ‘W’ highlights their bold approach to inclusivity and collaboration—here is where, as a woman, you make your mark.

This identity was implemented across all brand assets for NWC including their website, online shareables and print materials. The logomark is supported by a visual framework that uses any number of different ‘W’s that feels both playful and strongly representative of diversity and solidarity.

Contemporary, energetic and dynamic, the new identity highlights the relevance and direction of the NWC as an organisation while building on its heritage of achievement. This is an organisation that has evolved to give voice to the women of Ireland today and build a better future for the women of tomorrow.