Red Cross to be known as ICRC

Horseman Cooke McBains is creating a new identity for the International Committee of the Red Cross. The existing identity comprises a red cross in a roundel, formed from the words Comité International Genève.

The group has been briefed to make the logo distinct from that of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, both of which sport a red cross and red crescent.

The red cross symbol “is a given, we cannot change that”, says Horseman Cooke project manager Jane Crompton.

“Our objective is for it to be known as ICRC in its own right,” says Crompton. The strapline reads: Action for war victims.

The logo’s first manifestation will be in the committee’s new 100-page magazine, Forum, which the consultancy is also designing.

Once the logo is approved the consultancy will draw up a brand identity manual for the committee’s myriad literature.

The ICRC was formed at the time of the Geneva Convention in 1949. A private, non-political, independent institution, it has 600 delegates and 2500 local employees.