The War Amps began in 1918 as the Amputation Club of British Columbia.
It was the first of many groups that helped war amputees adapt to their new reality,
as well as advocate for seriously disabled veterans across Canada.
Guided by its philosophy of amputees-helping-amputees, the organization
has remained committed to improving the quality of life for Canadian amputees
by providing financial assistance for artificial limbs, peer support, and information
on all aspects of living with amputation.
It was the first of many groups that helped war amputees adapt to their new reality,
as well as advocate for seriously disabled veterans across Canada.
Guided by its philosophy of amputees-helping-amputees, the organization
has remained committed to improving the quality of life for Canadian amputees
by providing financial assistance for artificial limbs, peer support, and information
on all aspects of living with amputation.
During the rebranding, the breadth of programs and services War Amps offers presented
a challenge. The organization focused on assisting Canadian amputees first,
and consistent branding was not considered a priority. Additionally, the current brand mark does not present well in small sizes.
a challenge. The organization focused on assisting Canadian amputees first,
and consistent branding was not considered a priority. Additionally, the current brand mark does not present well in small sizes.
During the mark development phase, exploration involved attempts to represent amputation devices, amputee figures with missing limbs, different typographic treatments, and graphic shapes such as squares, circles, triangles and shields.
The challenge during initial digital brand development involved not having landed
on a solution during the development sketches. Therefore, digital exploration continued
to examine different typographic treatments, the amputee figure and circular forms.
on a solution during the development sketches. Therefore, digital exploration continued
to examine different typographic treatments, the amputee figure and circular forms.
The design solution represents their long history through the use of Perpetua Titling MT,
a crisp and modern typeface that is influenced by Eric Gill's experience of carving lettering for monuments and memorials. The bar and leg of the letter 'A' in amps together form
an amputation device, an object that the War Amps assists Canadian's
who are missing limbs to obtain them through financial assistance.
a crisp and modern typeface that is influenced by Eric Gill's experience of carving lettering for monuments and memorials. The bar and leg of the letter 'A' in amps together form
an amputation device, an object that the War Amps assists Canadian's
who are missing limbs to obtain them through financial assistance.
As with any brand mark development, lockup variations were developed for ease
of application across print and digital applications.
of application across print and digital applications.
In addition to the refreshed rebranding, War Amps required trade show display set up and event collateral. For War Amps staff, an identification card and t-shirt were developed.
To enhance the experience for trade show event attendees and introduce a new touch point, War Amps branded event collateral was developed to support the organization's effort to stay strong in their commitment to improving the lives of Canadian amputees.
To advertise the in-person trade show event, pre-event promotional advertising was developed to increase brand awareness and generate leads for the trade show event.
To increase awareness for the key tag service War Amps offers to support their efforts towards assisting Canadian amputees, billboard advertising was developed.
Reusable exhibition signage was established to enhance the organizations presentation, invite attendees to engage with staff, and inform trade show attendees about the organization's key tag service and philosophy of amputees-helping-amputees.
Reusable exhibition signage was established to enhance the organizations presentation, invite attendees to engage with staff, and inform trade show attendees about the organization's key tag service and philosophy of amputees-helping-amputees.
To further enhance the War Amps presentation at the trade show event, a new banner and counter design were created using the refreshed branding for an existing exhibition display and counter structure. The new display signage worked great for attracting attention at the trade show.
