The Salvation Army
Hope is at hand.
Context
The Salvation Army’s red shield is one of its most recognisable assets, but strict brand guidelines place clear restrictions on how it can be used.
The challenge was to create a campaign that felt unmistakably connected to The Salvation Army without making the shield the creative device.
How could the meaning of the shield be communicated without relying on the shield itself?
The idea
The idea emerged from a simple question. If the shield cannot be used, what does it represent?
Looking closely at the curvature of the shield suggested another form: hands raised in prayer, but also hands offering shelter, care and support. As the idea developed, another reading emerged. The same form could also be seen as wings. Not a reproduction of the symbol, but an expression of what it stands for.
The outcome
The hands became the central motif across posters and social media.
In print, they cradled real people, expressing compassion and support.
Across social posts, the hands opened frame by frame to reveal short messages capturing the spirit of the organisation’s work.
The result respected the existing brand while giving compassion, shelter and protection a visual language of their own.
