Irish | RichardsDee

3 for 3 at the 2024 Transform Awards

Posted on 19 April 202419 April 2024 by Simon Richards

3 wins for our work with Debra Ireland.

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.

Empowering Irish Manufacturing with FactoryXChange: Leading the Digital Transformation Revolution

Posted on 6 December 20236 December 2023 by Simon Richards

FactoryXChange, a new European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) that is helping to accelerate digital transformation and make advanced technologies accessible to manufacturing startups and SMEs across Ireland. FactoryXChange is about adopting the latest technology, advancing industries, reshaping education, and propelling society forward through technology.

FactoryXChange recognised that to drive their digital transformation mission, they needed a brand strategy that would give direction and communicate the offer with clarity, and a distinctive visual identity that would stand out in a eco-system of many business support and funding organisations. To do this we were tasked with four key deliverables:

Customer first approach: Enabling a commitment to a customer centric approach that understands the needs and challenges that resonates with SME’s in the manufacturing sector.
Brand strategy: We developed a process that included a series of collaborative consortium workshops that explored the brand’s essence. and identified what set them apart. The collaborative workshops provided a chance to fully understand the needs of the target audience and how we could position FactoryXChange to connect with them.
Visual identity: Crafted with innovation, sustainability, and progress in mind, FactoryXChange’s visual identity incorporates design elements, a carefully chosen color palette, and a logo that stand out in the ecosystem of business support organizations. The design reflects their commitment to driving digital transformation.
Tone of voice: We established a tone and voice that permeates all communication channels consistently, effectively conveying the brand’s message. This ensures a unified brand experience for all stakeholders.

Driving Digital Transformation

With input from consortium workshops and stakeholder engagement we developed four key pillars to communicate how, FactoryXChange is committed to driving digital transformation across a range of sectors:

Community for Change: FactoryXChange brings together a community of businesses, innovators, and experts, all sharing a common goal – to advance digital transformation in manufacturing and beyond. This collaborative effort fosters innovation and progress.
One-Stop-Shop for Digital Needs: From artificial intelligence to robotics, cybersecurity to supply chain management, FactoryXChange offers a comprehensive range of services to meet the digital needs of the SME manufacturing sector.
Tech Translators: FactoryXChange goes beyond advocating for technology; they act as tech translators, bridging the gap between advanced technology and everyday people. This approach makes technology accessible, actionable, and impactful
Creating a Sustainable Future: Sustainability is a cornerstone of FactoryXChange’s mission. They not only adopt advanced technology but harness it to create a sustainable future for businesses, communities, and the environment. This commitment extends to every aspect of their operations..

Positioning FactoryXChange for Success

Built around the idea of ‘Manufacturing Digital Transformation,’ FactoryXChange’s brand identity places them at the forefront of digital transformation, with a specific focus on manufacturing 4.0

The new brand identity is built on the concept of their role as a connector and catalyst for change. This informed the design of a strong and confident new logo. To ensure FactoryXChange has an accessible and simple design narrative the overall system utilises and stripped back colour palette of black and white, with a yellow and green gradient that serves as a metaphor for change and forward momentum.

The challenge was to create distance from competitors and stand apart from each individual consortium member with no single member dominating.

RichardsDee wins at the Transform Awards Europe 2017

Posted on 6 April 201722 September 2017 by Celine Dee

RichardsDee’s work on the rebrand of Bord na Móna was awarded Bronze at the eighth annual Transform Awards Europe. RichardsDee’s excellence in rebranding and brand development was recognised in a room of global branding agencies. With fierce competition, the calibre of entries broke all previous awards records, with a 35% increase in both the companies entering and the actual number of entries.

Established in 2009, the Transform Awards has evolved into a celebration of the indispensable talent that exists in international branding. Covering Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, North America and Europe, the Transform brand itself is truly global, with no other outlet as committed to providing such comprehensive coverage of the brand environment. The awards recognise the creativity and strategic thought exercised and provide the opportunity to celebrate with clients and colleagues at the most prestigious awards event for brand communications.

‘The Transform Awards evaluate exemplary work in brand development, and acknowledge the growing significance of brand in strategic corporate communications. Developing and sustaining a strong brand is imperative for success and we are honoured that our work with the brand team at Bord na Móna has been recognised on an international stage’

-Celine Dee, RichardsDee

The awards ceremony, hosted by comedian and actor Russell Kane, was held at the Brewery, in Moorgate, London.

“Each brand that has been involved in this year’s awards, global or local, has demonstrated outstanding creative ability and strategic thought while working closely and collaborating with their agencies.”

-Andrew Thomas, Transform Europe Awards