As a trustee of the charity formerly known as Ganet’s Adventure School Fund, I’ve been closely involved with the process of changing its name to Think Malawi. This change has been made in order to better reflect its expanded aim: to support education projects throughout Malawi in addition to Ganet’s Adventure School which it was originally set up to support.

Having lived with the previous logo for way too long, which was put together in extreme haste and then never updated, I am keen to ensure that the new branding really works as an asset that will support the charity’s efforts.

I am a big believer in incorporating audience research into my work, in order to help ensure its effectiveness. Being a fan of the way Johnson Banks and Mozilla opened up the brand development process for the Mozilla rebrand to the public, I am opening up the development process of Think Malawi’s branding in the same spirit.

Your feedback is very welcome throughout the process, you can send it to me via info@thinkmalawi.org

The new name, Think Malawi, has been now been approved by the trustees and the Charity Commission, so I have now been able to get to work on the visual research.

Modern African art and design research moodboard

Typography research moodboard

As a photographer of African hand painted signs, this was a welcome chance to revisit a favourite subject matter and see what’s happening with more contemporary Malawian and African type.

Crafts and packaging research moodboard

African crafts and toys made from found materials are an example of the ingenuity which the Think Malawi branding aims to evoke.

Patterns research moodboard

Colour research moodboard

The bright colours to be found in Malawian and African graphics could be an apt way to show the sense of playfulness which we want the brand to contain.

Big charity logo research

Malawian and other African logo research

Recent charity rebrands research

Accelerator and seed fund logo research

Educational organisation logo research

Investment and innovation bodies logo research

Microloans, campaigns and consumer fundraising logo research

Core mood board

This board is a visual summary of the space we are aiming for in our branding, in terms of colour, typography, tone and clarity of message.

Next steps: developing a brief

Having done the visual research and developed a basic strategy for the brand, the following brief was developed:

Put simply, Think Malawi is an opportunity for people to directly improve the futures of children in one of the poorest countries in the world.
The brand is a catalyst which enables Malawi’s next generation to shine.
We believe there is an opportunity for Think Malawi to position itself as an enabler of innovation. This will help it to stand out from the many other small charities focussed on Africa, and to address some of the concerns around foreign aid.