Amnesty International UK

Official Websites

• https://www.amnesty.org.uk

Brand Guidelines

2021

Brand Summary

Mission

• To engage more effectively with audiences, reach out to more people, and make Amnesty stronger, all under the simple idea at the heart of Amnesty International since it was founded in 1961: ordinary people standing up for humanity [^1].

Core Values

• humanity
• optimism
• inclusivity
• confidence
• celebration
• unity
• determination
• intelligence
• inventiveness
• openness

Target Audience

• UK audiences, including campaign participants, supporters, and those interested in human rights, with materials tailored for specific groups such as schools, government, and event attendees [^2].

Personality Traits

• brave and bold
• confident
• sometimes humorous
• not shouty or accusatory
• open
• inventive
• intelligent
• determined
• optimistic
• inclusive
• human
• celebratory

Visual Identity Overview

• A strong, consistent visual identity built on a bright four-colour palette (yellow, pink, blue, green), iconic candle logo, bold wordmark, and distinctive typography. Visual cohesion is prioritized, with striking photography and illustrations used to convey humanity and activism. The brand emphasizes clarity, recognition, and unity across all communications [^3].

Categories

Brand Voice

• Whether it’s written, spoken, or visual, the way we communicate Amnesty International’s work to UK audiences must reflect our values. Our communications strategy identifies the audiences we need to reach to broaden popular support for human rights, build engagement with the Amnesty brand and help us grow. Our brand ‘playbook’ explores those insights, defining the personality and tone of voice that will help us do this - five traits that underpin everything we do and are reflected in everything we say. They are: Shining a light on humanity, even in the darkest places Showing that all acts of humanity, big or small, make a difference Engaging people on subjects they care about by telling human stories Being confident, sometimes humorous - but not shouty or accusatory Remembering to stop, say thank you, and celebrate our successes, from small wins to big victories

Brand Imagery

• Our iconic candle logo, the burning flame circled with barbed wire, is light out of darkness, a visual expression of hope. This idea is inherent in all our communications. The words and images we choose show who we are and what our work is about -humanity.
• Design consistency involving the use of our logo and colours can help audiences remember us.
• We need a global identity, so that what we do in the UK reinforces what we’re doing elsewhere in the world.
• A bright four-colour palette – yellow, pink, blue and green – underpins our positive brand personality in materials addressed to our UK audiences. In addition, black and white, and light grey accents can be used when needed.
• Official reports mainly use the global black and yellow palette. We would prioritise these colours for formal or official communication UK products, such as research reports likely to be used by other Amnesty sections, or government submissions and letterheads.
• At times, we will use other colours to reflect cultural convention, for example red on placards for our Middle East and North Africa campaign, and rainbow colours for our presence at Pride.
• Our wordmark is only used in black, white or yellow versions. There should be sufficient contrast between the wordmark and background. The wordmark must appear as a distinct block to stand out against its background, as shown in these examples.
• The wordmark must not be recoloured and should not merge with the overall background colour.
• Do not use any strokes or outlines on the wordmark
• Do not add any kind of effects such as a drop shadow to the wordmark
• Do not frame the wordmark
• Do not condense or stretch the wordmark
• Do not crop the wordmark
• Do not add tints to the wordmark
• Do not alter the background colour of the wordmark
• Do not alter the Amnesty candle
• Do not invert the wordmark
• Do not change the orientation of the wordmark by rotating it any way
• Do not incorporate additional elements or text into the wordmark
• The Amnesty wordmark should be positioned in the bottom right-hand corner of printed materials.
• It can be placed on a solid background of any of our brand colours or over a clear area in an image, as long as it does not obscure the main subject area.
• Minimum height of word mark for print is 10mm.
• The wordmark should always appear on right-hand side of the branding strip/block with clear space between each logo.
• The wordmark should not bleed off the edge of a document.
• When used over photos or graphics it must be placed in clear areas, with sufficient contrast so that it is clearly visible. Whenever possible, it should appear to the bottom right of layouts.
• The wordmark must not be placed over complex backgrounds, interfere with, or osbcure important areas of photos. Whenever possible, it should appear to the bottom right of layouts.
• The candle circled in barbed wire is more than a logo. It symbolises a global movement of people determined to create a world where everyone enjoys the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Minimum height of candle for print is 12mm.
• The candle should always appear with a minimum area of clear space around it. This area should be free of any type or graphic element. The clear space should be equal to or greater than 1½ times of the candle’s width.
• The candle can be used instead of the wordmark when ‘Amnesty International’ is in the main title and the design does not allow for the wordmark to be placed in the bottom right hand corner. The candle should be positioned in the top right hand corner of the page.
• When re-sizing, always scale proportionally -do not distort the candle.
• The candle can be used in professionally designed materials, where the wordmark doesn’t work within the design. Some examples are small, contained graphics, badges or stickers, t-shirts and placards.
• When choosing a photo, careful consideration is needed on how to crop the image and what clear space is available to overlay text and logo.
• NEVER overlay text or logos on a person’s face.
• If text wi11 not sit comfortably over an image without obscuring faces or other important deta i Is, use the text separately from the image.
• Our visual identity will be defined by strong and striking photography. If possible we should use photographs in all our communications.
• Through using engaging, human images, we can help our audiences find a personal connection with human rights stories.
• See our Using Photography guidelines for extensive information and advice on picture research, usage, ethics and copyright, consent and safeguarding.

Color Palette

• • A bright four-colour palette – yellow, pink, blue and green – underpins our positive brand personality in materials addressed to our UK audiences. In addition, black and white, and light grey accents can be used when needed.
• • Official reports mainly use the global black and yellow palette. We would prioritise these colours for formal or official communication UK products, such as research reports likely to be used by other Amnesty sections, or government submissions and letterheads.
• • At times, we will use other colours to reflect cultural convention, for example red on placards for our Middle East and North Africa campaign, and rainbow colours for our presence at Pride.
• YELLOW CMYK 0 / 0 / 100 / 0 RGB 255 / 242 / 0 HEX #fff200 PANTONE Yellow
• PINK CMYK 0 / 87 / 7 / 0 RGB 238 / 71 / 144 HEX #ee4790 PANTONE 212
• BLUE CMYK 85 / 0 / 0 / 0 RGB 0 / 182 / 241 HEX #00b6f1 PANTONE 2995
• GREEN CMYK 52 / 0 / 100 / 0 RGB 136 / 197 / 64 HEX #88c540 PANTONE 376

Typography

• We have a range of typefaces for different purposes. Our corporate typeface family Amnesty Trade Gothic is available on request.
• Our secondary typefaces are: Sabon Roman − a good reading serif font for extensive text in print materials – such as long text-heavy reports Arial − a widely available sans serif font.
• Amnesty Trade Gothic Bold Condensed ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz • used for main headings (in upper case) • try to use no more than six words per heading
• Amnesty Trade Gothic BOLD NO.2 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz • used for secondary headings • used for highlighting body copy
• Amnesty Trade Gothic ROMAN ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz • used for body copy
• Sabon Roman ABCEDFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz • used for long body copy • mostly large, text-heavy publications
• Arial ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz • for online use when Amnesty Trade Gothic is not available
• Our style of typography is very important to keep our visuals looking coherent and recognisable.
• • Amnesty Trade Gothic Bold Condensed • Uppercase • A black or yellow highlighter box behind the text to add prominence • Text colour can be in black, white or yellow • A clear gap between each line of text • Headings should be short -six words or less if possible
• • If you have a long heading that cannot be shortened, use upper and lower sentence case Amnesty Trade Gothic Bold Condensed. • Do not use the highlighter box behind upper and lowercase headings.
• Type effects Do NOT add effects such as drop shadows to our typefaces. These effects are often used to make text look more ‘designed’, but they look unprofessional and outdated.
• Our brand colours can be used effectively with text in various combinations to create visual impact, emphasis, or for hierarchy (distinguishing levels) of content.
• When text is placed over a graphic element, there should be enough contrast between text and background colour to ensure the text is clearly readable.
• Examples of some acceptable and unacceptable colour combinations when using text over graphics, see right.
• Use a black or colour highlighter box behind the heading to add prominence – only use the combinations shown.
• • There needs to be a gap between each line of text • Keep headings as short as possible • Some colour combinations work better in digital formats than printed
• Never use colour if it makes something hard to read or illegible, eg never use yellow for body copy on a white background. It is also not easy to read yellow text on a green background, or green on blue, or pink on green. Colours can create a dynamic feel in our communications across all channels – but don’t overdo it.
• We use these elements with care, to avoid appearing ‘shouty’ or unwelcoming.
• Just as we sometimes use an additional colour, we can also occasionally use a non-brand font. Designing materials for a comedy event or a festival may call for an adventurous design treatment. This is fine -it must still be easily identified as Amnesty International, with basic elements like the wordmark properly and prominently handled.

Logo Usage

• Where possible the wordmark logo should appear on the bottom right of printed materials.
• To create maximum impact our logo works best when placed on a yellow background. When this isn’t appropriate a black or white alternative may be used.
• The height of our word mark shouId never be less than 6mm. There needs to be a clear space around our wordmark.
• It is important that the appearance of the wordmark remains consistent. The wordmark should not be misinterpreted, modified or added to.
• The wordmark must never be redrawn, adjusted or modified in any way. It should only be reproduced from the artwork provided.
• If the wordmark would make the candle too small for effective display (eg on placards), the elements can be ‘freed up’ and the candle positioned larger and independently.
• If the title or headline already contains ‘Amnesty International’ the candle can be used separately.

Tone And Messaging

• So it is important that we sound like one voice, with one recognisable look, and one set of shared strategic goals.
• A strong, unified purpose is important for building relationships and affinity.
• This idea is inherent in all our communications. The words and images we choose show who we are and what our work is about - humanity.
• Brand consistency has one big advantage -it builds recognition. With recognition comes familiarity. With fami I iarity comes trust and confidence. If done well, consistency brings clarity and purpose which audiences recognise. They know straight away who is communicating to them.
• Our design reflects our image. Subconsciously or not, audiences look for consistency in design, and they do this for some simple reasons. Design consistency involving the use of our logo and colours can help audiences remember us.
• Working together with consistent visual identity will allow audiences to understand that we are one movement. This doesn’t mean that everything has to look exactly the same, but that there should be visual cohesion.
• By keeping our visual identity and branding consistent, we’ll be able to develop and strengthen our brand effectively -ensuring we make a strong, positive and long-lasting impression.
• We need a global identity, so that what we do in the UK reinforces what we’re doing elsewhere in the world.
• WE DON’T NEED ■ TO BE UNIFORM BUT UNIFIED.
• Whether it’s written, spoken, or visual, the way we communicate Amnesty International’s work to UK audiences must reflect our values.
• Our communications strategy identifies the audiences we need to reach to broaden popular support for human rights, build engagement with the Amnesty brand and help us grow.
• Our brand ‘playbook’ explores those insights, defining the personality and tone of voice that wi11 help us do this -five traits that underpin everything we do and are reflected in everything we say. They are: Shining a light on humanity, even in the darkest places Showing that all acts of humanity, big or small, make a difference Engaging people on subjects they care about by telling human stories Being confident, sometimes humorous -but not shouty or accusatory Remembering to stop, say thank you, and celebrate our successes, from small wins to big victories
• OPEN, INVENTIVE, INTELLIGENT, DETERMINED.

Brand Values

• Amnesty International is a worldwide organisation. We have Amnesty sections and individual supporters in many countries around the world – these are all part of one global movement. This is Amnesty International. So it is important that we sound like one voice, with one recognisable look, and one set of shared strategic goals. This is how people are able to recognise other organisations all over the world. It is how people get to know, love and trust them. A strong, unified purpose is important for building relationships and affinity. People join Amnesty because of their heartfelt and powerful urge to stand up for humanity. This is the simple idea at the heart of Amnesty International since it was founded in 1961: ordinary people standing up for humanity. We want this idea to capture the imagination of many more people for generations to come. Our iconic candle logo, the burning flame circled with barbed wire, is light out of darkness, a visual expression of hope. This idea is inherent in all our communications. The words and images we choose show who we are and what our work is about - humanity.
• Brand consistency has one big advantage -it builds recognition. With recognition comes familiarity. With fami I iarity comes trust and confidence. If done well, consistency brings clarity and purpose which audiences recognise. They know straight away who is communicating to them. • Our design reflects our image. Subconsciously or not, audiences look for consistency in design, and they do this for some simple reasons. Design consistency involving the use of our logo and colours can help audiences remember us. • Working together with consistent visual identity will allow audiences to understand that we are one movement. This doesn’t mean that everything has to look exactly the same, but that there should be visual cohesion. • By keeping our visual identity and branding consistent, we’ll be able to develop and strengthen our brand effectively -ensuring we make a strong, positive and long-lasting impression. • We need a global identity, so that what we do in the UK reinforces what we’re doing elsewhere in the world.
• Whether it’s written, spoken, or visual, the way we communicate Amnesty International’s work to UK audiences must reflect our values. Our communications strategy identifies the audiences we need to reach to broaden popular support for human rights, build engagement with the Amnesty brand and help us grow. Our brand ‘playbook’ explores those insights, defining the personality and tone of voice that wi11 help us do this -five traits that underpin everything we do and are reflected in everything we say. They are: Shining a light on humanity, even in the darkest places Showing that all acts of humanity, big or small, make a difference Engaging people on subjects they care about by telling human stories Being confident, sometimes humorous -but not shouty or accusatory Remembering to stop, say thank you, and celebrate our successes, from small wins to big victories
• OPEN, INVENTIVE, INTELLIGENT, DETERMINED.

Visual Style

• Welcome to Amnesty International UK’s Visual Style guide, part of our set of practical guides for powerful brand communications.
• This shows how to use key elements of our visual brand – colours, typefaces, wordmark and candle logo – correctly. Maintaining a strong and consistent brand identity helps people recognise and connect with us.
• Our iconic candle logo, the burning flame circled with barbed wire, is light out of darkness, a visual expression of hope. This idea is inherent in all our communications. The words and images we choose show who we are and what our work is about -humanity.
• Brand consistency has one big advantage -it builds recognition. With recognition comes familiarity. With fami I iarity comes trust and confidence. If done well, consistency brings clarity and purpose which audiences recognise. They know straight away who is communicating to them.
• Our design reflects our image. Subconsciously or not, audiences look for consistency in design, and they do this for some simple reasons. Design consistency involving the use of our logo and colours can help audiences remember us.
• Working together with consistent visual identity will allow audiences to understand that we are one movement. This doesn’t mean that everything has to look exactly the same, but that there should be visual cohesion.
• By keeping our visual identity and branding consistent, we’ll be able to develop and strengthen our brand effectively -ensuring we make a strong, positive and long-lasting impression.
• We need a global identity, so that what we do in the UK reinforces what we’re doing elsewhere in the world.
• A bright four-colour palette – yellow, pink, blue and green – underpins our positive brand personality in materials addressed to our UK audiences. In addition, black and white, and light grey accents can be used when needed.
• Official reports mainly use the global black and yellow palette. We would prioritise these colours for formal or official communication UK products, such as research reports likely to be used by other Amnesty sections, or government submissions and letterheads.
• At times, we will use other colours to reflect cultural convention, for example red on placards for our Middle East and North Africa campaign, and rainbow colours for our presence at Pride.
• Our wordmark (see page 6) is only used in black and white or black and yellow versions.
• Where possible the wordmark logo should appear on the bottom right of printed materials.
• To create maximum impact our logo works best when placed on a yellow background. When this isn’t appropriate a black or white alternative may be used.
• The height of our word mark shouId never be less than 6mm. There needs to be a clear space around our wordmark.
• It is important that the appearance of the wordmark remains consistent. The wordmark should not be misinterpreted, modified or added to.
• The wordmark must never be redrawn, adjusted or modified in any way. It should only be reproduced from the artwork provided.
• If the wordmark would make the candle too small for effective display (eg on placards), the elements can be ‘freed up’ and the candle positioned larger and independently.
• If the title or headline already contains ‘Amnesty International’ the candle can be used separately.

Layout And Composition

• Where possible the wordmark logo should appear on the bottom right of printed materials.
• To create maximum impact our logo works best when placed on a yellow background. When this isn’t appropriate a black or white alternative may be used.
• The height of our word mark shouId never be less than 6mm. There needs to be a clear space around our wordmark.
• It is important that the appearance of the wordmark remains consistent. The wordmark should not be misinterpreted, modified or added to.
• The wordmark must never be redrawn, adjusted or modified in any way. It should only be reproduced from the artwork provided.
• If the wordmark would make the candle too small for effective display (eg on placards), the elements can be ‘freed up’ and the candle positioned larger and independently.
• If the title or headline already contains ‘Amnesty International’ the candle can be used separately.

Co Branding

• The wordmark should always appear on right-hand side of the branding strip/block with clear space between each logo.

Digital Guidelines

• Digital and print design have many brand elements in common. Typography, colours, use of photos and graphics, tone of voice. Most of the rules described in this guide apply to both.
• Some essentials of design approaches do not translate well from one medium to the other, and design needs to allow for different reader behaviour.
• Holding a physical flyer, brochure or book in your hand is very different to viewing content on screen. The print page is static: spatial ‘boundaries’ help you focus on a complete layout with its linkages and logic -and then turn the page.
• Digital experience is fluid, fast moving and ever changing. Instant distraction is a quick swipe away at the edge of the screen. Studies show that digital users tend to rapid browsing and skimming, more than in-depth reading.
• Design for screen must make it easy for the user to absorb the story in seconds. Good pictures attract attention, clear, concise text and engaging headlines draw a reader in.
• Creative use of video, audio and user interaction is engaging -but don’t over­do it.
• When choosing a photo, careful consideration is needed on how to crop the image and what clear space is available to overlay text and logo.
• NEVER overlay text or logos on a person’s face.
• If text wi11 not sit comfortably over an image without obscuring faces or other important deta i Is, use the text separately from the image.

Additional Properties