Walking Scotland Rebrand

Paths for All are a Scottish charity who aim to make walking and wheeling a part of everyday life, everywhere, for everyone. They promote the physical and mental health benefits of walking, run programmes to inspire positive behaviour change, and improve places and spaces to walk and wheel.

The charity were looking to rebrand as part of a transformation that would see them become more public-facing and diversifying their income. The new brand would need to reflect their inclusive values, stand out in a busy sector, and be clear on the services Paths for All deliver. It needed to communicate purpose, feel accessible and hopeful, and have a structured approach for the charity’s sub-brands.

The first steps

For several months, we went on a research journey – and took the whole organisation with us. We reviewed the Paths for All’s existing brand identity, engaged stakeholders, and ran workshops to better understand the charity and its goals. We ran a staff away day and invited teams to share their views on their brand, audience and value proposition. We interviewed staff and stakeholders, ran an external survey, and visited their National Path Demonstration Site at Oatridge College. After each stage of the project, we presented our findings to the wider organisation to ensure everyone was up to date with the rebrand and felt their voice was being heard.

Our research revealed some real barriers: most people outside of Paths for All’s network didn’t know who they were or what they did. Many found the name difficult to say and staff noted that the organisation had moved their focus from providing guidance on paths to encouraging people to walk. Visual representation of the organisation was dated, and photography didn’t reflect Scotland today, nor the range of people they serve.

This collaborative work helped to define the brand’s positioning strategy, tone of voice, spirit, vision and values, leading to clearer brand guidance. Taking all of this input on board, we provided Paths for All with three visual identity concepts. Each had distinct brand architecture, a logo, colour scheme, typefaces, examples of assets – and a name.  

Connecting Scotland

We looked closely at what Paths for All do: they connect the dots, whether through policy, advocacy, path construction guidance, or community grant funding, to enable people in Scotland to walk more. Our winning visual concept drew on this connective work with a graphic device of ‘paths’ connecting colourful dots. Each of these small connections can lead to large-scale positive change, from improving the physical, mental and social health of people in Scotland, to positively impacting our communities, environment and economy.

The visual carries through to the brand’s new logo: an outline of Scotland created from paths connecting dots of varying sizes and colours, representing the diversity of people and places the organisation helps. We refreshed their colour palette, keeping blue as their primary colour to assist with their transition while introducing a brighter, bolder palette that appealed to a younger audience. Their new name communicates exactly who the charity are and what they do: Walking Scotland. This is paired with their new tagline: Your national walking and wheeling charity.

The preferred concept was presented to every level of the organisation from their design steering group – which consisted of staff, involved members of the public, and partner organisations – to the board, taking feedback onboard and developing and refining core elements, then presenting back through these channels as the concept evolved. Visuals were tested with audiences such as schoolchildren, and other charities including disability charities. We established a distinctive tone of voice and wrote a new boilerplate and messaging informed by experts in accessibility, inclusion and the environment.

Guiding the new brand in detail

We created comprehensive brand guidelines for Walking Scotland staff’s reference, helping to champion and protect the new brand. This detailed guide, which explains clearly how to use key design elements, was shared at a staff event as part of a pack to say thank you and help take the organisation from old to new. This pack included a house style guide we created with the marketing team, which advises on clear, consistent and accessible messaging in charity’s new tone of voice. We also organised photography shoots across multiple locations for authentic, diverse photography that represents walking and wheeling in Scotland.

Our designers created a wide range of marketing collateral, including digital and social media assets, brochures and out-of-home posters, plus an award for their Walk at Work Award and Walking Scotland merchandise. We also made easy-to-edit templates for the marketing team’s future use. The organisation’s strategy, Step It Up, and Strategic Plan were redesigned to fit the new brand and tone of voice. One of the larger projects of the rebrand, we redeveloped Walking Scotland’s website with an entirely new framework based on audience personas and user journeys.

After the big launch, we’re continuing to work with Walking Scotland on other projects including fundraising materials, photography, reports, policy documents and their Walking Manifesto as we gear up for the Scottish election.