The National Office for Research Ethics Committees is a new, independent office with a statutory function in research ethics. The establishment of the National Office is an important component of the reform of the research ethics committee framework in Ireland led by the Department of Health. Our task was to create a national, contemporary and distinctive brand that would quickly establish NREC as a leader and driver of a national system of research ethics review for the future.
The Approach
Due to NREC being a new independent office, we felt creating a logotype was the most suitable solution to the task as this would allow us to mark, and brand materials that would in turn create ownership and awareness of the new office. The design solution chosen for the logotype is the combination of 2 simple shapes working in harmony to form one cohesive unit. The mark represents different elements with very different perspectives (represented by the circle and square) working together to form one solution. The use of a slab serif font in capitals reinforces the confidence /leadership role of the brand, while the colours deliver a fresh but serious feel to the brand-mark.
The Result
The NREC brand personality is professional, authoritative, and contemporary with an identity to match thats distinctive and recognisable. The final identity is simple, and easily applied to materials both printed and digital. Moving on to NREC’s website, we delivered a clean, easily navigated website that prides itself in its accessibility. It was built to be fully updatable by the client which will allow the site to grow in content as does NREC.
