The communications team at Southend-on-Sea Borough Council asked me to work on updating and refreshing the council's brand, as up until recently, although there was a logo with usage guidelines, there was no complete identity or brand style.

A concern highlighted by the communications team is that without a strong brand style, if you removed the logo from various council publications, it is not obvious they are all 'Southend Council' documents. After researching other Council's brand guidelines I began with experimenting with developing a 'device' to use with the existing logo, as I felt this is would help make the brand more identifiable. They also wanted to make use of the underused strapline 'creating a better Southend', as this is the core aim of the Council. This evolved into a tab device with a script style tagline which also includes the web address. 

We also created a logo lockup version for use where space is restricted. This, in turn, instigated the development of a logo lockup system where other Council service identities need to be used within the SBC brand, such as Museums, Registration Services, Workforce Development.

The next stage was to develop a colour palette beyond the three colours used in the logo. I used the colours of the Council's values as a basis, and created a secondary palette of colours that cover a wide gamut, are bright without being overly saturated and cohesive. I also introduced a palette of accent colours to make the system a little more flexible. By creating colour usage rules, we now have a cohesive colour system that is easy to implement and identifiable.

The next stage was a to refresh the official typeface. The previous guidance was to use Arial for Council documentation, however, this was not strictly enforced, and I feel it is a little too heavy for body copy and uninteresting for display type. I supplied a range of suitable choices that are easy to read and modern without being overly stylish.  After experimenting with different layout examples we eventually settled upon Proxima Nova, as this typeface includes a plethora of weights and stylish alternate glyphs.

I next worked on creating layout rules for standard document sizes.  Again, after considerable research and experimenting by updating older documents, we settled breaking the page up into 8 rows with the logo and strapline tab occupying the top row, and the bottom row reserved for partner logo. This was fleshed out to provide margin and logo alignment specifications for a multitude of document sizes.

Lastly, I worked with the team to create the 'Brand Book', the official brand guidelines document.  I fleshed out the supplied copy to include the rules I had developed for using the elements, colour, typeface and layout guidelines, including illustrations and examples where required. This also included the creation of templates for stationery and simple documents such as leaflets, powerpoint and simple posters.