Contact Info
Our Purpose Framework
Visual Identity
Ray of Light Story
Brand Voice
How We Feel / Don't Feel
Using Our Brand Voice
Writing Style Guide & Download
SIM Manifesto & Download
Logo Variations
Clearspace & Minimum Size
Partnerships
Logos Do’s & Don’ts
Download Logos
Typographic Structure
Typographic Usage
System Typeface
Typography Do’s & Don’ts
Colour Palette
Secondary Colour Palette
Colour Accessibility
Colour Do's & Don’ts
Ray of Light Graphic Devices
Textural Backgrounds
Light Leak Backgrounds
Light Leak Usage
Graphic Devices Don’ts
Iconography Style
Infographics
Studio & Campaign Photography
In Hospital
Photography Do's & Don’ts
Current Campaign
Look & Feel
Brand Applications
Intro
Our brand is not who we say we are; it’s what we do and how we do it.
People often define a brand as a company’s name, logo, advertising, look and feel, reputation or trademark. But the fact is, none of these things is our brand. These are manifestations, symbols or expressions of our brand. If we look at the world’s greatest brands—Apple, Disney, Virgin, we get a more complete view—a brand is a bundle of values and attributes that define the value we deliver to people through the entire donor experience, and the unique way of doing business that forms our relationship with all of our stakeholders.
Our brand is our north star, and it’s articulated through our purpose framework. It guides us so that collectively what we do and how we do it is aligned on the inside and expressed through the interactions and experiences we create externally. It empowers us to infuse our brand into our day-to-day decisions and behaviours.
Our brand guidelines (what this is) are simply the surface expressions of our brand—a resource that helps us establish our visual and written identity through consistent approaches and practices that align how our assets show up publicly. While consistency in communication is key, some flexibility is encouraged in its use. However, consultation with the creative team is required for exploring new directions. Consider this less as a rule book, and more of a creative guide to bringing our brand personality to life in the most compelling way through our voice, look and feel.
Questions?
Have questions about BCCHF or looking for something that isn't here?
We'd love to help.
Contact the brand team: brand@bcchf.ca
Our Purpose Framework
As architects of our future, we know strong futures must be built on solid
foundations. We have the chance to take what we know is our current reality, and re-shape it into something better each day, for the benefit of tomorrow. Change isn’t easy, but committing to it makes it possible.
WHY WE EXIST
To Power the Possible.
Inspired by the resilience of children and families, the dedication of our hospital community, and the generosity of our supporters.
WHAT WE DO
Fundraise
We raise funds to provide children with excellence in healthcare beyond what the government supports.
Advocate
We champion the impact of our unique world-class leadership in child health and the critical need to continuously drive advancements provincially and globally.
Collaborate
We collaborate as one team with our healthcare partners to work towards our shared vision for child and youth health.
Inspire
We inspire and nurture a community of proud, loyal supporters by enabling meaningful experiences and making it easy to contribute.
Amplify
We seek to amplify every dollar we raise for maximum impact and are effective, transparent and accountable stewards.
Unify
We are united in our unwavering belief in our cause.
HOW WE SHOW UP
Think Big
Boldly envision the future and embrace change with openness, curiosity and determination.
Step Up
Be accountable to yourself, the team and our shared cause; be a good partner.
Lead with Heart
Listen, be kind and inclusive, respect the needs, voices, and feelings of others; celebrate the journey.
How we talk
When we speak or write, we do so with intention: to connect with people in the most compelling way. We powerfully amplify the stories of our patients and families, our research teams, and the integrated network of health care experts who provide on-going care. Our aim is always the same: to inspire and rally people to our cause.
Tone of Voice
This is what makes us, sound like us. Our personality, tone, and how we communicate our brand to the world.
We’re strong.
But not in an arrogant, overbearing way. It’s that self-assured sort of strength, the kind that comes from experience, genuine compassion and highly regarded leadership. The kind of strength that isn’t flustered by how big the challenges are, because we’ve done this before and we’ll do it again. This is strength powered by unwavering hope, rooted in a clear purpose, and confidence that we can.
We’re a little tenacious.
(Okay, a lot tenacious).
You might expect us to tug on your heart strings, but we don’t rely on that alone. Our tone is determined and emotive. We’re proud of our breakthroughs and we’re driven to make more. We’re tackling big, lofty, life-changing goals, and it doesn’t come easy. It takes focus, fortitude, and perseverance. We’re proud to talk about our wins, but don’t shy away from explaining the problems or hurdles we’ve identified that we’re working to overcome, either. Tenacity balanced with humility is what builds credibility and trust.
We’re frank, but friendly.
Our whole purpose centers around kids, so naturally our tone reflects that youthful spirit. Kids say it like it is, so we do too. Direct, concise, and conversational. We want to connect on a real, human level, versus sounding corporate and overly academic—seriously. We never make outright jokes or puns, but, when the moment is right, we introduce some levity. Our patients may be facing the biggest challenges of their lives, but we take care not to define them by their illness or disease. We find the right moments to celebrate the lighter moments of childhood.
We’re eternal optimists.
How can you not be, when you’ve got world-class researchers and doctors and a whole medical community working together under one roof? We’re positive, and the energy is contagious. We’re all about the collective: the more great minds, the more donors big and small, the more amazing things we can accomplish. We want to make people feel like they’re on this journey with us—because we can’t do it without them.
How we feel:
Inspiring
Determined
Proud
Hopeful
How we don't feel:
Overly Sentimental
Formal
Clichéd
Manipulative
Using Our Brand Voice
A few tips on how to bring our mighty tone to life.
Write how you speak.
Keep it natural and conversational. Our audience is smart; they can see through buzzwords and glaze over platitudes. They’re seeking a more human connection, so more real talk, less fluff. Feel free to use contractions, start sentences with “and” or “but,” and call children “kids.” Also, unless writing for an internal audience, it’s best to avoid acronyms, as they can cause confusion and feel too corporate.
Share, don't shout.
We're relentless in our pursuit of closing the gap on childhood illness and disease. And while it’s exciting—and important—to celebrate each milestone, we need to make sure we do it in a way that feels genuine. SO, WHILE IT MIGHT BE TEMPTING TO USE CAPITALS OR EXCLAMATION POINTS, PLEASE DON’T!! (See what we mean?) Inspire excitement through clear and compelling examples, stories, analogies, or statistics instead.
Less is more.
We live in a time of ever-shortening attention spans. No matter the content, try to quickly get to the point. Avoid packing your pages with sprawling, long-winded copy. Try not to over explain (like we're doing here). And when you can, keep sentences short.
Don't overstate.
We always want to inspire readers and rally them to our cause, but it’s important not to push too hard. Odds are, they’ll see through our attempt and lose trust. People are inundated with charities and causes that are looking for their support on the daily. Ensure your tone is authentic, and use meaningful words to paint a powerful story.
Go beyond superlatives.
When showcasing our expertise, don’t default to only using superlatives like “best in class” “world-renowned,” “cutting-edge” and “groundbreaking.” When used repeatedly on their own, they lose their meaning and readers simply gloss over them. Instead, use these descriptors to set the stage before proving what sets us apart by explaining the real impact of your subject.
What ifs > if nots.
We’re eternal optimists. We’re a place of possibility. When inspiring support, we steer clear of using guilt or negative language to compel people to give us their time or money. Not only does it do an injustice to the small but mighty stories we’re telling, it often makes our audience instantly tune out. Instead, we always share our message from a place of hope. What could be—and what will be, with your support.
Writing Style Guide
Refer to this guide to get into the nitty gritty of specific words we do and don’t use, internal acronyms, and organizational writing style preferences (i.e. when to capitalize, how to abbreviate, etc.)
Small is Mighty Manifesto
This is our manifesto for our creative brand platform: Small is Mighty. When we’re writing headlines, subheads, call outs or other creative copy moments, we consider how we can play with the idea of scale (small vs big) or the different ways we can interpret “small is mighty” when applying it to different messages to align it to the sentiments of our campaign.
Never doubt what small can do.
Big things come from small beginnings.
Everything groundbreaking or world-changing starts this way.
The kids we help may seem small, but they face huge challenges. A sample of cells in a petri dish is small, but it could be the key to the next big breakthrough. You might think your impact is small, but your support could be just what we need to push the next medical advancement over the finish line.
Together we’ll show the world:
Small is mighty.
Logos
The masterbrand BC Children's Hospital logo is shared by the Hospital, Research Institute and the Foundation, however modifications have been made to the Foundation’s logo colour. We’ve updated the colours of our BCCHF logo to highlight our new brand platform. Our sun is in Jolt to denote our theme of mighty, and it’s paired with our brand twilight (navy) which does not stray far away from our masterbrand logo in order to retain its equity.
Full Colour Logo
On darker images and or backgrounds our logo should appear in its full-colour version whenever possible. It’s important to ensure that the sun is visible at all times– please always adhere to our brand colour palette for the sun.
Single Colour on Light Backgrounds
In situations where the background is bright, and/or bold like against the Jolt—please use a single colour logo to ensure the asset does not get too busy and the brand is not lost in the design.
Single Colour on Dark Backgrounds
In instances where the background is dark, please use the all single colour all-white logo so that the sun will stand out and shine.
White & Jolt Logo Exception
As we enter an accessibility-friendly digital world, we want to ensure our logo is legible for all. In rare instances where needed, we may use our White & Jolt logo against the Halo colour background only.
Clearspace
Give our logo room to breathe. To preserve the integrity and visual impact of our logo, always maintain adequate clear space around it. This ensures the logo can be seen quickly, and uncluttered by other logos, symbols, artwork, or text. The clear space (X) around the logo is dictated by the distance between the baseline of “BC” and cap height of “Hospital” in our logo.
Minimum Size
To ensure legibility, our logo must never be reproduced smaller than 19mm (.75”) in width and 100px width in digital applications. The icon must never appear smaller than 10mm (.4”) and 20px width in digital applications.
Partnerships
On fundraising partners materials, the logo can be shown on its own or may be paired with a fundraising partners logo. In this case clear space needs to be maintained around our logo when pairing with a fundraising partner's logo. The fundraising partners logo should always live on the left and take up the same visual space as the BCCHF logo.
Logos Do's & Don'ts
In order to maintain our brand equity and consistency, we want to ensure our logo is as clear as possible. Refrain from colour or image combinations that will detract from our logo. Please keep legibility top of mind. Explore colour accessibility friendly combinations that work here.
Download Logos
Logo variations are available to download as EPS (vector) or PNG file format below.
Typography
Our brand uses two typefaces. The first is a serif called Queens by Kilotype, the second is a sans-serif called National 2 by Klim. They can be used together or separately. When used together they establish a sense of hierarchy and create visual emphasis within our brand. National 2 Regular is used for body copy as it is quite legible and reads well as our hardworking typeface.
The typefaces are meant to denote strength, confidence and a sense of boldness. The combination of both typefaces in use bring depth and contrast to the copy. Just like colour holds meaning for our brand, typography is equally as powerful in representing our values and brand tone.
National 2
–
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUu
VvWwXxZz
1234567890",:@*&%$!#
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxZz 1234567890",:@*&%$!#
Queens
–
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxZz 1234567890",:@*&%$!#
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMmNnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxZz
1234567890",:@*&%$!#
Typographic Structure
When creating headlines for print and digital, our priority is to use Queens Compressed Bold and National 2 Condensed Bold. You may change the priority of the typefaces depending on the application. (i.e. Numeric/infographics start with National 2, and headlines start with Queens Compressed).
Typography Usage
We don't want our design system to be too rigid, but we also want to exercise restraint. Depending on your audience or application, a mix of both typefaces may be appropriate.
System Typeface
In the event that National 2 is not available, our system typeface is Arial. It should only be used in scenarios where universally available systems do not have the ability to use our two primary typefaces. We should only use our system typeface for: e-mail live text, web live text fall back, and Microsoft PowerPoint presentations. See primary typeface for rules.
Arial
–
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm
NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxZz
1234567890",:@*&%$!#
AaBbCcDdEeFfGgHhIiJjKkLlMm
NnOoPpQqRrSsTtUuVvWwXxZz
1234567890",:@*&%$!#
Typography Do's & Don'ts
Our typography guidelines are here to help aid you. Please follow them as closely as you can.
Please note: Use of primary typography may require font licensing; please contact brand@bcchf.ca for any questions.
Colours
Our colours are ownable and help to aid our brand identity.
Our hero colours are Twilight and Jolt, with five supporting colours to be used for variation.
Twilight
Jolt
Solstice
White
Crescent
Black
Halo
Colour Accessibility
To ensure that our brand is legible in the digital space, we have compiled a list of colour pairings that are WCAG 2.0 compliant (Web Accessibility Initiative).
All pairings indicted are Triple A (AAA) compliant, except for those indicated which may not work as well for small to regular sized text.
Single A is viewed as the minimum level of requirement which all websites, apps, and electronic content such as documents should adhere to. (A) may not be favourable considering our audience. An example of this would be Halo against Cresent.
Double A (AA) compliance is the acceptable level of accessibility for many online services, and should work with most assistive technology.
Triple A (AAA) is the gold standard level of accessibility, which provides everything recommended for a complete accessible compliance. This makes for a great experience for all.
Colour Do's & Don'ts
Our colour guidelines are here to help aid you. Please follow them as closely as you can.
Please note: The secondary palette may evolve and shift on a case-by-case basis as needed.
Graphic Devices
There are a number of ways we graphically represent our Ray of Light iconography. While flexibility is encouraged, each direction is meant to represent the power and optimism of our logo’s sun rays, and can be adapted to suit the visual story being told.
Textural Backgrounds
Along with our structured typography we also use typography as a textural device. This textural device helps us amplify our message and also promotes a sense of urgency.
Various colour combinations can be used for emphasis. Background colour combinations do not have to be accessible.
Light Leak Backgrounds
The light leak helps to aid our visual identity by giving dimensionality and igniting hope. It can be used on its own or in conjunction with our Ray of Light shapes. The light leak can be amplified by enlarging the shape or tucked from the top left of the asset. Ensure that we are using tints, tones, and shades from our colour palette.
The light leak background can be used on its own by swapping out our brand colours.
Gradient filters can be added overtop the light leak background to create an added layer of dimension, as used in our brand campaign.
Light Leak Usage
Here, the light leak is used as a textural element to give specific assets dimensionality. We balance our highly anthemic visuals with our bold energy to create cohesion.
In order to not overwhelm our viewers, keep the usage of the light leak and graphic elements to a minimum. We don't want to over communicate both worlds. The best use of this is on our website or DM pieces to highlight specific pieces of information– not overcrowd them.
Graphic Devices Don'ts
When using our graphic devices, please ensure that elements are carefully considered and not overused. We want to communicate as clearly as possible so that vital information comes across as quick and hard-hitting as possible.
Icons & Infographics
Icons play an important role within the brand visual identity; it can help simplify complex information. Our icons are a nod to the childlike nature of the brand, and communicate a familiar simplicity and ease. The way we use these icons in infographics help to make heavy information more digestible and visually appealing at the same time.
Photography
Our imagery brings small is mighty to life, showing our patients, people and hospital in a more authentic, human light. Photographically we use a visual theme of vibrance and colour throughout a subtle nod to the sun rays within our logo. We also opt for poses and angles that make the subjects the hero of the image. Our photographic approach is meant to exude strength and authenticity. When all is said and done, we use our photography to tell a story of hope.
softer, real, human.
Studio Photography
For our studio shots, lighting should be direct on with minimal shadowing. Subject matter should face forward.
In-Hospital Subject Matter
Highlight our patients in all situations– moments of wins, gains, tense moments by themselves, family, with staff. We want to give donors a glimpse of what it’s really like.
Style
The overall style is intimate, moody and warm. We want to dramatize our subject matter through lighting and composure. No harsh fluorescent lighting and distractions.
Photography Do's & Don'ts
Photography is a vital part of our brand identity. We want to stay as close as we can to these guidelines so that our brand does not become oversaturated with various imagery and styles.
Brand In Use
When creating material for our small is mighty campaign we considered creative approaches that were bold, imaginative and made a statement. Each tactic utilized brand colours, typefaces and brand tone throughout. Every execution also incorporated our refreshed brand logo for awareness and continuity. This campaign demonstrates how icons were used throughout and the adaptability of each.
When creating materials for campaigns, brand standards must always be maintained.
Current Campaign
Our brand campaign Small is Mighty showcases all the brand has to offer in action. This optimistic campaign champions BC Children’s Hospital, the kids who may seem small and face huge challenges, and the power in all of us to do small things that will make a profound difference. The campaign communicates optimism, hope and confidence while also being very human and grounded.
From typeface to photography, the theme of Small is Mighty translates clearly while maintaining the brand integrity of BC Children’s Hospital. All aspects of the creative approach were in keeping with the bold and courageous ideology of the brand. When adhered to, these brand assets communicate the optimistic and ambitious essence of the brand.
Please note: We are currently in the process of trademarking the lockup and phrase "Small is Mighty."
Questions?
Have questions about BCCHF or looking for something that isn't here?
We'd love to help.
Contact the brand team: brand@bcchf.ca