Shelter is a UK housing and homelessness charity, founded in 1966 as the National Campaign for Homeless People. Its visual identity has undergone two significant redesigns, first by London studio Johnson Banks in 2004 and then by WPP agency Superunion in 2021. The current identity is built around a red brush-stroke symbol that combines a roof shape with an upward arrow.
Design and History
In April 2004, Shelter unveiled a new logo, strapline and corporate identity developed by brand consultancy Johnson Banks and ad agency Hooper Galton, as part of a communications overhaul aimed at combating public misconceptions about homelessness. The charity had shifted its focus toward the wider problem of bad housing, not just street homelessness. Johnson Banks creative director Michael Johnson explained the reasoning: the charity was now concentrating on the bad housing that wrecks lives, hence the pitched roof added to the letter “h” in the Shelter wordmark. Johnson said he hoped the “h” would become a shorthand for Shelter in the way that Nike’s swoosh became synonymous with that brand. The mark ran for seventeen years. [1] [2] [3] [4]
In May 2021, Shelter launched a new brand identity developed by Superunion, alongside a campaign called “Fight for Home” created by Who Wot Why. The rebrand returned the charity to the spirit of activism in which it was founded in the 1960s. The new logo uses the visual language of protest, combining the iconic shape of a roof with a positive upwards arrow, rendered as red brush strokes. Superunion creative partner Adrian Burton said the symbol embodies 50 years of campaigning and a never-give-up attitude, and is intended to be something people can recreate, make at home, share and ultimately take to the streets. The charity’s purpose was developed by WPP’s The Sustainability Practice at Ogilvy. [5] [6]
Meaning and Symbolism
Shelter’s official brand guidelines describe the current symbol as combining the iconic shape of a roof with a positive upwards arrow, an urgent symbol inviting or demanding change. The brush strokes are inspired by the visual language of protest and the grassroots movement from which the charity came, and are described as handmade from red paint. The guidelines state the paint nods to the inclusive DIY spirit of Shelter’s founders, and that the brush strokes always capture the urgent realism of a human hand, never perfect. The symbol has three primary roles: dissatisfied, to point to a problem that needs addressing; demanding, as a point of action to demand attention; and defending, as a roof to protect the rights of the people the charity stands with. [7] [8]
Typography and Design
Shelter’s official guidelines state that the logo is a fixed unit combining the symbol and the wordmark, and that both elements are made from red brush strokes. The identity emerges from the logo, with typography and punctuation deriving from the wordmark. The guidelines specify that the logo should appear in red wherever possible, with black or white versions permitted only in exceptional circumstances, such as black and white newsprint or when red cannot sit on a coloured background. The symbol must always point up, never down or sideways. The minimum size for the logo is 20mm in print and 80px on digital applications. [8]
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