North West suicide prevention charity Papyrus has rebranded with a new look it says is “brighter, more visually appealing and full of life.”
The charity, which has its head office in Warrington, asked young people for feedback during the brand redesign and the creation of a new website, both of which are designed to encourage more to engage, get help and stay safe.
Chief Executive, Ged Flynn, said: “This is much more than a refresh. Our new brand identity is forward-looking, positive and designed to appeal to the very people who need our help the most.
“Every element of the new brand has been chosen to make Papyrus more visible and more accessible. A consistent brand means more people will find us. More people finding us means more lives saved.”
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The charity has grown considerably since it was founded in 1997, but although its reach, credibility and impact have increased, Papyrus admits that its visual impact had not kept pace.
The new website focuses on clearer navigation and improved signposting to the charity’s lifesaving services.
Ged Flynn added: “A stronger brand and a completely redesigned website are significant investments in our vital suicide prevention work across the UK.
“The charity has been around for almost 30 years, adapting and innovating and never losing sight of our mission to ensure more lives are saved and fewer are lost to suicide. How we look has changed but our values remain the same: the people, the purpose and everything that makes Papyrus who we are.
“We are here for life.”
The ethical creative agency Kind has spent the past two years working with Papyrus on both the rebrand and the new website. Strategy director, Michelle Pavey, said she is proud of what they have created together: “Projects like this are a powerful reminder of what good brand and communications work can actually do,” she explained.
“When the people you’re trying to reach are young, vulnerable, and sometimes at the very edge of what they can cope with, getting the strategic foundation right is the difference between someone finding the help they need or not.
“The privilege of working with Papyrus is that you feel that purpose in every decision you make, and that impacts everything.”
Kind partnerships director Mat Hayward added that the new website reflects the strength of the new brand and serves the charity’s distinct audiences: young people in crisis, parents, carers and professionals.
“The website will be used by people experiencing the hardest moments of their lives,” Hayward added. “Whether that’s young people in crisis, parents who do not know where to turn or people carrying grief they were not prepared for. That has shaped every decision we’ve made from structure to content and design details. We needed it to be clear, calm and easy to navigate without the person using it having to work for it.
“Knowing who we were building the website for, and how they might be feeling when using it, gave us real focus throughout the project.”
Feedback on both the rebrand and the new website has come directly from young people themselves, including members of a Lived Experience Participatory Group which was set up by Papyrus last year.
Twenty-five-year-old Isabel Rolfe said: “The Papyrus rebrand foregrounds hope and possibility, which are both absolutely representative of the support they provide. The gentle and vibrant colours were chosen to make material accessible to everyone, and as a result the website feels warm and refreshed.”
In addition to big changes to the brand and website, Papyrus’ HopeLine 24/7 service gets a new number, 0300 102 2470, which will save the charity thousands of pounds every year – 0300 numbers are reserved for charities, non-profit organisations and public bodies.
Motion designer Philippa Brawn has also helped to bring the new Papyrus rebrand to life with an animation:
For practical, confidential suicide prevention help and advice, please contact Papyrus HopeLine 24/7 on 0300 102 2470, text 88247 or visit papyrus-uk.org for the webchat service.
