Open Heart Parrot Rescue Logo & Identity Concepts
Challenge
Open Heart Parrot Rescue is a fictitious non-profit animal shelter specializing in rescuing and re-homing parrots. It faces the unique challenge of supporting rescue birds, a pet that most animal shelters don’t accept. Open Hearts Parrot Rescue owes its success to its supporters, but it always looking to grow its community, both in parrots and people, to meet the ever-soaring demands.
Since Open Heart Parrot Rescue doesn’t have any pre-existing materials, it required a logo design first to reflect its identity as a compassionate and vibrant non-profit avian sanctuary. It needs to be easy for consumers to recognize and sympathize with its brand. Then, Open Heart required a website design to expand its newfound brand to online consumers and supporters. This of course needs to be attractive and optimistic, yet still convey a sense of excitement and urgency to contribute to Open Heart’s benevolent cause.
- No existing identifying marks or logo
- Brand is unmemorable
- Does little to influence decisions of potential supporters
Strategy
The name “Open Heart” made an easy starting point for the logo design. Compassion and care-taking are Open Heart’s core values, so a heart shape was perfect. I wanted the logo to make it obvious, too, that this pet rescue sanctuary was dedicated to birds, so I choose the scarlet macaw. It’s an easily recognizable parrot, and the red reinforces the “love” symbolism behind the heart. I decided on capturing a macaw couple to complete each other, and the heart, and provide additional symbolism for values like friendship, companionship.
A comparative analysis of competitors reveals many nonprofits with dated logos and untended brands, likely a result of small budgets. In contrast, I wanted this to help distinguish it from competitors, whose logos and identities often look cluttered or dated.
An open layout, simple color scheme, and mixed font pairs help Open Heart look modern—suggesting that the organization is mature, stable, and ready to take on the rescue parrots and donated funds. The website design extends the Open Heart brand to online consumers. Despite the messy nature of the work, Open Heart deserved a clean aesthetic.
Results
- Unique and memorable logo design
- Logo creates a good first impression
- Logo design communicates brand values and meaning
- Core identity’s strategic use of white space looks clean and inviting—plus facilitates low-cost reproduction of branded collateral
- Website design extends the Open Heart brand to cross-media platforms, increasing accessibility and making it easier for people to find and share more information
Enjoy seeing illustrations in process? Take a look at the SPC Turkey Trot logo design! For more illustrations, check out the Townhouse Landscaping Proposal Web App too.
Custom Illustration
I felt that custom illustration would help make Open Heart stand out from several other animal non-profits. I knew from the beginning I wanted to logo to portray two beings—parrots often partner for life, whether with a parrot “spouse” or a human companion. Looking at real-life is always a great source of inspiration.
I started drawing on paper. The logo design is full of additional visual meanings. The subject, colors, proportions, and fonts were all strategically selected. For example, I selected a mixture of typefaces that convey closeness and a hands-on experience. The brush font has an earthy, organic, free-spirited vibe. The all-caps, condensed font conveys closeness and trusted authority. A box shape links the logomark with its logotype, but the heart and love still find a way in and break through the box to maintain its open (like Open Heart) and inviting feeling.
Embedded within the final, digital macaw shapes are Golden Proportions, such as the curve of the head and body of the left macaw, as well as the concentric circular shapes of the red eye feathers, as well as implied hearts and wing shapes.
