After a short stopover in London for the prestigious 2024 Transform Awards, we were honoured to receive gold for our work with Debra Ireland.
The Transform Awards are one of the most celebrated accolades in branding, their focus on impact and performance over style and aesthetics setting them apart. This is incredibly important for us at RichardsDee as our primary purpose is to Design Meaningful Change for clients and their businesses.
That’s why when Debra won 3 of 3 nominations, we were delighted not only for the recognition of our partnership but for the amplification of the invaluable work they do for people affected by Epidermolysis Bullosa. This small but mighty organisation works tirelessly to transform the lives of people affected by this skin condition, raising essential funds and support for a cure. The visual shift towards positivity and empowerment now makes it an inspiring resource for families and people who live with all forms of EB.
As brand partners, we are thrilled by this acknowledgement and opportunity for the brand to continue bringing bold hope to everyone with skin as fragile as a butterfly wing.
We are delighted to win in the following categories:
🥇 Gold for Best Use of a Visual Property
🥈 Silver for Best Creative Strategy
🥈 Silver for Best Visual Identity by a Charity or NGO
What the judges had to say:
“In an increasingly alarming and alarmist world, charity communications often compete for the most emotive real estate. Debra, the charity supporting people suffering from epidermolysis bullosa, recognised that this wasn’t an effective strategy to serve all members of its community. Instead of focusing on suffering, they changed the narrative. It delivered a message documenting the fragility of the skin of those affected. The butterfly – beautiful, ephemeral – was the perfect visual representative.”
“I love, love, love this rebrand. It’s inclusive and beautifully crafted.”
We would also like to congratulate all involved and hope to be back next year.
At RichardsDee, the team are working across a diverse range of branding programmes so we’ve created RD Rewinds; a way to showcase the projects we’ve been proud to lead over the month. First up, October!
SEAI Energy Awards
The SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards recognise and reward excellence in all aspects of energy efficiency and renewable energy. As proud brand partners to SEAI, we’ve worked on this critical showcase of energy innovation and sustainable energy for over five years. From event branding and stage design, to signage and presentation development, we were delighted to support on this year’s event which saw Veolia, Bus Éireann, Johnson & Johnson Vision Care Ireland and Wren Urban Nest amongst the worthy winners. A huge congratulations again to all those who were nominated, and to all of this year’s winners!
Furthr Festival
October 21st saw over 1,600 ambitious founders, investors and enterprises gather at Furthr Festival to explore global challenges and the role of tech in finding the solutions. With over 100 speakers across five stages it was a high octane day focused on big topics like opportunity drivers, scaling businesses, sustainable innovation and emerging tech. Having led the rename and rebrand of Dublin BIC to Furthr, we were delighted to develop the name, proposition, identity, architecture and experience for Furthr Festival. A destination that really celebrates where Innovation, Tech and Sustainability collide.
Discover Ireland is the consumer-facing brand of Fáilte Ireland, Ireland’s Tourism Development Authority. This familiar household name and brand identity had been in existence for many years, but it was time for Discover Ireland to be brought up to date and better represent Ireland’s tourism today.
Our task was to deliver meaningful change by re-establishing Discover Ireland as the only online destination for visitors seeking authentic experiences. For this well-known brand, we needed to ensure it was relevant to a domestic audience, impactful and distinct in a world of travel and tourism logos, and carried Discover Ireland’s personality and warmth into the digital domain. This was the definitive digital offering for holidaymakers looking to plan every aspect of a break, and the new brand needed to represent this in a contemporary, confident, and trustworthy manner in order to grow numbers and awareness. The brand also had to work as a B2B brand, working with established trade partners as a recognised brand that they respected.
Through our process of discovery, definition, and design we established creative territories exploring how a logotype can retain its sense of place through symbolism – in contrast to modern online brands which amplify simplicity over personality. Our solution was to draw inspiration from traditional Celtic letterforms and combine their authenticity and charm with a contemporary sans font to deliver on the objective of a forward-looking personality. This was partnered with a colour palette building on the familiar language of green for Ireland, with a brightness that encapsulates the fresh final identity of discoverireland.ie, perfectly adapting across the digital world.
“Just want to say thanks to you and the team for your work on Discover Ireland. I love the simplicity and craft in the final version”
Niall Tracey Director of Marketing, Fáilte Ireland
We are excited to announce that we have been shortlisted for FOUR Transform Europe Awards. The global brand development awards recognise creativity and strategic thought, and place real emphasis on the impact of the work.
“The calibre of submissions has been outstanding and this year has been very competitive. It is absolutely fantastic to see RichardsDee once more reach the shortlist in not just one, but four categories.” Andrew Thomas, Transform
Our work with Dublin Bus on DoDublin has been shortlisted for Best Brand Evolution, Best Creative Strategy and Best Visual Identity in the Travel Leisure and Tourism Sector. Read the full case study here.
Our work with Bewley’s on Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning for hospice has been shortlisted for Best Visual Identity from a Charity, NGO or Not-For-Profit category. Read the full case study here.
“We are delighted to be shortlisted again for awards that recognise the transformative impact branding has on business, and industry. The Transform Awards are important awards for us for many reasons; a key one being the way their jury is structured by client side professionals who vote on commercial performance and disruption balanced with excellence in execution. This is our second consecutive year in the shortlist which is testament to the energy, focus and determination of both our own team and the clients who trust us with their brands” Celine Dee, Co-Founder, RichardsDee
About Transform Awards
Transform is a publishing and events brand dedicated to the global rebranding and brand development industry. The Transform Awards celebrate the best in rebranding, employer brand strategy and brand development in Europe.
“Internationally, rebranding and brand development has become a catalyst for successful business. As opportunities ripen, this year’s Transform Awards Europe 2018 shortlist catalogues the leaps and bounds that brand development work is continuing to make. The shortlists quintessentially represent not only the impact of imagination, but also how creativity can elegantly meet strategy, thriving on nostalgia, mystery and striking imagery.” Andrew Thomas, Transform
Inevitably, fresh-faced we were not, and at 5am we were up and at it again, ready to tackle the main day of the competition, the minuscule sleep adding some clarity to our thoughts from the previous night.
After raiding the local Starbucks at opening time of all of its coffee and croissants we made our way to the basement of The Palais. There we were shown to our booth and we moved into ‘production mode’.
Surprisingly, the day itself ran relatively smoothly (if we do say so ourselves!). We had devised a schedule and broken down the key targets we needed to hit to meet our 8 o’clock deadline, which proved very beneficial. Through the day we managed to stick to this, using it as a helpful guide if we felt we were spending too much time on any one element of the project.
At one point during the afternoon when the effects of the previous sleep-deprived night were setting in, a representative from Getty Images arrived at our booth with a camera person to ask us a few questions about how the project was developing and how we were feeling, ‘tired’ was our answer. But a few miniature pastries from the lunch table did the trick for a sugar-kick and we managed to push through to the finish line, with time spare to proof read and ensure our printed piece was correct.
Our final design system revolved around the concept of ‘A Unified Force For Good’, speaking to the idea of the collective mobilisation of the diverse people who come together in many ways to form the global population of women, who inspire and strive to create positive, real change for women and girls.
Taking inspiration from and evolving the assets currently in place in the UN Women logo, our new system for ‘Daughter’ sub-brands utilised a flexible system of graphic shapes and typography, created from these existing assets, but transforming them to allow for the development of new forms, and varied meanings.
We did it! We were finished! We handed over the fruits of our labour, a single A3 document, and it was now out of our hands, ready to be presented to an impressive panel of judges from internationally renowned design agencies like Brand Union, Future Brand and Planeta to name but a few.
Time for an Aperol Spritz.
Another Aperol Spritz. Pizza. Sleep.
The Win
As an eternal pessimist (realist, OK?), I (Emma) had no inkling that we would be in with a chance of winning the much coveted Gold Young Lion. Kyle was more confident, hoping that we may place somewhere, possibly a bronze. As we sat in front of the panel of judges, IAPI representatives by our side, we suddenly got a wave of nausea over us as they announced the winners and we felt something we hadn’t admitted to ourselves all the way through the process…we really wanted this. Bronze was announced, not us. Silver, not us again, no chance. An then, to our utter disbelief the word ‘Ireland’ was called out as the winner of the Gold. The feeling that accompanied this disbelief was one of incredible euphoria, and immense pride that we had achieved this win while representing Ireland.
We thanked the judges, shook hands, hugged our teammates and the IAPI team, shed some tears, and most importantly…called our moms (and the RichardsDee Team)! The feeling was incredible.
We were photographed, interviewed and congratulated and then left to our own devices to get ourselves organised for the awards ceremony that evening where we would be awarded, alongside our peers and the judging panel, with two gold medals, on a stage worthy of The Oscars, in a theatre filled with over 1,500 people. No pressure, right? The awards show was fantastic, showcasing the inspiring work of the other Lion winners in the Design category.
Afterglow
As the first Irish Gold winner of Cannes Young Lions in its 23 year lifespan, we were very very proud. Young Lions has been a wonderful opportunity for us to hone our skills and push ourselves to the boundaries of what we’re capable of. It’s also been an unbelievable experience, being immersed in the festival environment and being surrounded by the world’s best creative talent, and with our other teammates form Team Ireland, in the beautiful location of Cannes. We urge anyone considering entering to just go for it.
We want to thank our wider team at RichardsDee without whom, none of this would have been possible, the external mentors we had along the way- Steve Payne and James Beveridge, and the team at IAPI who were an organisational powerhouse, supporting us all in Cannes, no mean feat!
In March, Bewley’s won gold at the AIM’s for Corporate Social Responsibility for Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning for Hospice.
Ireland’s Biggest Coffee Morning for Hospice is Ireland’s longest running one day charity event and has raised over €32 million for hospice over the past 20 years.
As Bewley’s brand partners, we developed the campaign strategy, refreshed positioning and the creative execution and worked tirelessly with a working group comprised of of St. Francis Hospice, Our Lady’s Hospice, regional hospices, Bewley’s and MKC to ensure the campaign achieved the success and recognition it deserved.
It’s the first year that IAPI’s Young Lions Ireland has run a new-fangled category solely for design, so naturally, we thought; “we’ll give that a go!”. After much (read: little) persuasion from the team, we young-gun, under 30s of the RichardsDee clan were on our way to the briefing session where we were introduced to our client and a unique challenge, a full-scale rebrand of not-for-profit representative body, The Wheel.
What was presented to us was the issue of an incredibly important and much-needed organisation that was struggling to express its authority, values, wealth of expertise and experience in the space through its dated and fragmented identity, that had been in use since the late 1990s. The Wheel supports over 1,300 of Ireland’s not-for-profit and voluntary groups through representation, training and advocacy. They play a vital role in ensuring a thriving Irish charity sector, and they wish to grow in the coming years. Their identity, as it stood, didn’t reflect the organisation, or its goals, as it had done when first created. The Wheel had changed and its identity was becoming a hindrance to pushing forward and continuing to strive for positive social change in Ireland.
What a fantastic opportunity for us to create a brand identity system that truly reflects the work that The Wheel does, and the values they stand for. An identity that works to transform how their audience perceives their organisation, and one that can challenge perceptions of the not-for-profit sector as a whole.
With merely a fortnight until our deadline, we set out to work!
We started our adventure with a trip down the rabbit hole. We got intimate with our knowledge of The Wheel, and really got to the core of what makes the organisation tick, what drives it at the heart. We concluded that it is people who drive The Wheel. People, striving towards a more fair and just Ireland, through action.
We conducted a deep dig into the sector, an exploration of our competitors, and identified key benchmarks in and out of category. We thought, why can’t we be more of a progressive thought leader, like MIT Media Lab? Or how could we represent activity and transformation, like Channel 4? Why can’t we benchmark The Wheel against some of the world’s most dynamic and progressive brands, and champion the idea that organisations like The Wheel are central to achieving real change in Irish society through the empowerment of people, collaboration, and action.
Based on our research, we began to develop possible territories for exploration. After a brainstorming session and some scribbling in our notebooks we were equipped with multiple concepts that we could tease out and subsequently decide as to which we felt was strong enough to take forward to creative stage.
After whittling the bunch down to seven core ideas, we progressed with a route each, choosing to explore the spaces of:
‘Change/Support’
Ever-moving the wheel turns, leading the way. A supportive structure that not only moves forward but also supports a larger structure than itself. It’s through this free movement that The Wheel is able to shape change, transforming the industry and supporting its members.
And, because I couldn’t choose just one, what became a combined route of:
‘People Power’
The Wheel as a collective of doers, working together towards a common goal of a more fair and just Ireland. We are stronger together because, to create positive change, we must use all the resources at our disposal, and our people are the strongest resource we have. We utilise their knowledge, passion, and drive for good by lifting each other up and strengthening each organisation through collaboration and community.
‘Impact/Origins’
We can’t imagine a world before the invention of the wheel. The wheel impacted civilisation powerfully and set the world in motion, sparking the development of society as we know it. The Wheel is a catalyst for progression, evolution, and transformation. The Wheel inspires change, it evolves and enriches the organisations it represents and supports.
‘Revolution’
The revolution is active, constantly moving forward, it’s a cycle, a knock-on effect, a chain reaction, an idea sparked and transformed. It is active and it doesn’t stop. The Wheel tirelessly empowers the organisations it represents, inspiring and enabling an industry to create powerful change and challenge the status quo. The Wheel is always progressing towards its goal of a fairer and more just Ireland, enabling others to do the same.
Once we had our concepts clearly outlined, we progressed to creative exploration.
With these core concepts at hand, we started to build outwards and develop our suite of key visual assets in alignment with these ideas, always referring back to the brief and sense checking to ensure that we were on the right path to creating something powerful, and useful, for The Wheel. After various potential executions and visual expressions of concepts we settled on a route that had ‘Revolution’ at its core, though it encompassed the ‘People Power’, ‘Impact/Origins’ and ‘Revolution’ routes, all in one.
Every element of the identity needed to suggest these core themes at its heart. Dynamism was key. This identity could not appear to be static, and it had to speak with authority and conviction.
We wanted to evoke the duality of the term ‘Revolution’; the physical act of revolving, being active; and a societal revolution that is sparked by the actions of people empowered to create change. The final execution we settled on used dynamic typography that would appear to rotate around a curve, interchangeable wheels that would suggest different factions of the organisation (whether it be common goals or people power etc.), and cyclical language devices to express the revolutionary action that The Wheel wished to inspire in Ireland through working with and supporting its clients. We employed an impactful black and white colour palette to suggest The Wheel’s transparency and straight-talking attitude. As an organisation in a landscape of groups that have been marred by scandal in recent years, it is imperative that they communicate their position in a clear, matter-of-fact way.
We were beyond thrilled to hear that we had been shortlisted in the top 3 in our category by the Young Lions judging panel, and then even more overjoyed to hear that we had actually won! To be recognised by the Young Lions team and to be competing on behalf of our country in Cannes in June at such an internationally renowned and prestigious event is a huge honour.
We look forward to keeping you all posted on the rollercoaster that will be the following few months as we get into training for a whirlwind 24 hour brief against 40 other international teams, and prepare ourselves for a fantastic experience attending one of the most renowned festivals of creativity worldwide.
It’s been over a year in the making, but our role in the creation of the new executive lounge at Dublin Airport is complete. Not only is this lounge the only US Preclearance lounge in Europe, it is the first lounge on “US soil,” outside of America. Working across concept, creative direction, naming, brand identity and passenger experience, this week marks the launch of the lounge, where all of these elements can be experienced together for the first time.
From an initial brief to delivery, the challenge was to convey and position a new lounge experience that captured the crossing of time zones and countries. With a clear understanding of the audience, we considered spaces for play, work, relaxation and to explore the fusion of Irish and American produce. A key focal point was the idea of a barista, to reinforce the quality of experience and to create a talking point for the lounge. MCA Architects led the delivery of the built environment, bringing to life the concept through references to time and the brand colour palette.
Menu covers and delph.
The name 51st&Green was inspired by the idea of an intersection; the fusion of the best of Ireland with the best of America. The 51st represents the creation of a new time zone – the 51st state of America and the Green is a proud reference towards Ireland and the new Dublin Airport brand. In addition, the construction of the name reflects a traditional American address, and this street sign concept is brought through in the style of the brand mark. This theme is continued across all key touch points to build the 51st&Green story.
This new lounge represents a place where Ireland and America connect; a place where people, time and cultures blend to create a truly unique lounge experience, and we are delighted to have played a leading role in bringing the vision to life.
