Charity hands Hat Trick a marching order

Christian Aid has appointed Hat Trick Design Consultants to devise a concept, identity and marketing communications materials for its July protest march against poverty and climate change.

Hat Trick was selected from a raft of lead design groups that work with Christian Aid, without a pitch. The consultancy has previously worked on the charity’s annual review.

Christian Aid head of design Frances McConnell says the charity hopes to make the identity as strong as the Make Poverty History campaign in 2005.

‘We are planning a high visual impact as we want the march to have as high a profile as possible,’ explains McConnell.

‘By using a visual identity we hope to galvanise as much support as possible across all media.’

The ‘three-month moving event’ – starting in Belfast and ending in London – will be held from July to October, forming the pinnacle of the charity’s Climate changed – Let’s cut the carbon campaign, which launched on 19 February with a series of postcards designed by NB Studio (pictured).

Through a series of events and petitions, the campaign is lobbying the Government and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to enforce legislation that would make it a legal requirement for companies to declare their carbon emissions, thus making it easier for investors and consumers to choose more ethically sound companies.

McConnell explains that the charity will have a presence over the coming months at several youth festivals, where it will target potential recruits for the march.

Last March, Christian Aid embarked on a radical overhaul of its identity with design group Johnson Banks, in an attempt to reinvent itself as a more secular and charity-focused organisation.