Citizens Income Trust
We created a new brand identity, and an ethical web design and development for Citizens' Income Trust, a charity that promotes the idea of a universal income in the UK, wanted a fresh update for their website. The site is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the concept of a basic income, with regularly updated articles, news, opinion pieces and much more.
- Client : Citizens Income Trust
- Website : citizensincome.org
- Issues : Universal Income, Universal Basic Income, Citizens' Income
- Services Offered : Website Design, Logo Design, Website Development
What came before
The existing site had been building content and material over many years, and Citizens' Income wanted a cleaner, more modern approach that allowed people to find the content they were looking for quickly and easily, but maintaining the overall look that wouldn't alienate people.
Out with the old (sort of)
The site wasn't responsive, and with a large portion of their users viewing the site on mobile, it was evident that a new, responsive design was necessary.
With the brief of keeping a similar feel for the overall design, as well as the identity, we first set about creating a new bolder look for the identity of Citizens' Income Trust.
A new design
The logo built upon the simple stacked nature of the original logo, but added a visual cue to coins and stacked money - crucially the logo was highly scalable, working for social media, favicons, and any other forms.
Our process
We then set about creating a new design for the website, keeping the yellow and black colour theme, along with the sidebar layout for the navigation, but making the whole thing simpler and bolder. A challenge for ethical design, especially NGO design, is maintaining the simplicity and boldness of the message whilst explaining an incredibly complex issue.
Our process starts from stripping away all of the different parts and elements, and working from the bottom asking "what is the least we can say about Universal Income where anyone would understand the concept, and what is the simplest way that we can promote the arguments for why it is necessary". The result was a stripped back design that allowed the content to speak for itself, with the navigation split into two distinct parts - those for returning users who wish to find the latest news, and those who are visiting the site for the first time and need the most direct introduction to Citizens' Income as possible.
