UK Parliament

Balancing cohesion and distinctiveness over years of brand design

About UK Parliament

For an institution as steeped in tradition as the UK Parliament, a rebrand is a significant commitment. It’s important to get clear and lasting value from it. So when the UK Parliament rebranded in 2018, we helped to implement the new brand effectively.

The rebrand promised to support a modern, digital style of communication, and to bring all Parliament’s communications, internal and external, closer together.

Cohesion

There are many teams within UK Parliament, from the People and Culture team to the curators of Parliament’s art and heritage. We work directly with a number of them, applying the brand consistently to create a cohesive identity and culture for the entity as a whole.

Individuality

At the same time, it’s important for each team to have some individuality. Otherwise, in such a big organisation, it’s easy to lose track of who’s who and the value they provide. Our brand expertise, and our deep knowledge of the UK Parliament brand specifically, mean we know just which elements to push, and how far to push them, to create distinctive communications that still form part of a cohesive whole.

While many Parliamentary reports must be printed and laid before the House, the teams we work with are increasingly taking a digital-first approach to their publications. It’s a chance to express the brand in yet more new ways, with clean, clear, modern layouts, illustrations and infographics.

The government is leading the way on accessibility: all government publications, printed and digital, must be accessible to people with a range of disabilities. Thanks in large part to our work with UK Parliament, we’re experienced at building in accessibility from the very start of the design process, and fulfilling the highest accessibility standards in the documents and publications we produce.

House of Commons Sustainability annual review 2020-2021

Extended and enhanced

Over years of design work for UK Parliament, we’ve extended the original brand assets with a set of more than 80 versatile icons and illustrations, suitable for digital and print. With some simple, some illustrative, and some decorative, the set covers a variety of design needs, as well as representing the full range of concepts the UK Parliament regularly needs to communicate.

We’re always looking for ways design can extend the reach of Parliament’s messages while offering efficiency and value for money. Illustrations created for reports can go on to form the basis of posters or social media assets, giving more audiences more chances to take in the messages.

UK Parliament icons representing documents, libraries, and questions

UK Parliament icons representing conversations, documents and questions

Small, simple UK Parliament icons representing numerous concepts including phone, email and calendar

Exhibition design

The communal spaces of Parliament’s buildings, like the lobby of Portcullis House, are an opportunity to showcase its history and impact using great design. Exhibitions we’ve designed for this expansive canvas include a celebration of the anniversary of Shakespeare’s first folio, and Roots to Parliament, which highlighted the contribution of the Commonwealth citizens among Parliament’s staff.