Challenge

Following a competitive tender, we were delighted to be appointed to create The Westminster Consortium (TWC) brand identity. The scope included extensive guidelines, templates and user guides plus the principal prospectus outlining who the TWC are, what they do and how they deliver on the 'Strengthening Parliaments' statement.

TWC is a collection of organisations that work together as a collective to Strengthen Parliamentary Democracy by building capacity in the areas of Parliamentary Process and Management, Financial Oversight and Access to Information. The Consortium Members include: Westminster Foundation for Democracy, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association UK Branch, House of Commons, Overseas Office, The International Bar Association (IBA), The National Audit Office, Reuters Foundation, The Centre for Democratic Governance. Each Consortium member provides a series of training modules, designed to support the three principle areas of focus.

The Consortium was fortunate to be awarded a grant of 5m from the Department for International Development (DfID) Governance and Transparency Fund to support five parliaments in Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East over five years.

Solution

To design a brand and capture the ethos and quality of both Westminster and the Consortium members was key. The hallmark approach is designed to represent over 700 years of parliamentary process at Westminster with a hint to quality and provenance.

The TWC project required extensive experience including brand design and implementation, communications experience and editorial expertise. Key deliverables included the following: comprehensive brand guidelines outlining logo use, application and best practice with examples, primary and secondary colour palettes for on and off-line communications, presentation and stationery templates.

Measurement of success

Launched to schedule, the programme has been received very well both within the Palace of Westminster and the programme countries. The brand toolkit has empowered teams in Georgia, Lebannon and Uganda to produce high-quality training material on a local level.

Country highlights include the following:

The Ugandan Parliament has spoken out about the positive work of The Westminster Consortium in their country.

The first parliamentary officials training in Lebanon, entitled Parliamentary Democracy, was executed by the Westminster Consortium inside the Lebanese Parliament

Training of parliamentary staff in Ukraine is now accredited and results in a recognised qualification.

On a personal note, it was a real privilege to be selected for the project. Both working on a high-profile branding project and presenting to all Consortium members at the Palace of Westminster - an ambition fulfilled.