Project

Strong Cities Network Branding & Digital Design

Project

Strong Cities Network Branding & Digital Design

Client

Strong Cities Network

Industry

NPO, Social Responsibility, Economics, Public Relations, Politics

Services

Harnessing a global network

Services

The Strong Cities Network is a global network of cities working to address rising hate, extremism and polarisation, within a human rights framework. It brings together mayors and cities from around the world to collaborate and exchange experiences, strategies and city-led actions to prevent and address the root causes of hate, extremism and polarisation, and to promote social cohesion and strengthen the resilience of the communities they serve. The Network’s mission of empowering city-led action to address rising hate and polarisation is pivotal: it is cities, after all, that are closest to their communities and are uniquely placed to understand the dynamics within communities and what is needed to strengthen support social cohesion.

The Strong Cities Network Management Unit embarked on a project to ensure that its brand and online footprint were aligned with and supported this mission. Through a robust collaboration with the Strong Cities Network, we were commissioned to reimagine the brand and website to better reflect and align with the Network’s global scope and impact at the local level.

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The heartbeat

Representative of all

By cities for cities, it was pivotal that the Strong Cities’ reimagined brand identity be inclusive of the diversity of its global membership – one of the Network’s central pillars and greatest strengths. Whether urban, rural, large or small, mayors and cities will find peers facing similar challenges. The new brand needed to visually project and optimise this collective strength.

To be representative of the full brand and mission meant reflecting the work and interests of a wide array of stakeholders, from current to prospective members, to non-member cities, donors and partners and the Network’s International Steering Committee. The website also needed to both integrate and showcase the work and impact of the Network’s newly launched four Regional Hubs.

This required a clear understanding of the interests and priorities of all stakeholders, a process that took time, but through which we were able to develop a brand that everybody was proud of and best represented Strong Cities on a global scale.

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Simplicities

One of the biggest changes was modernising the logo, moving away from a stylised city skyline to something more inclusive, and reflective of the geographic and cultural diversity of the Network’s global membership.

Moving away from a logo mark to use a logotype also created confidence and strength across the brand. This new logo is supported by a diverse range of brand assets, vibrant colours that distinguishes the Network from its peers and presentation combinations to create variety, scale and synergy with partner and city brands.

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User-centered design at the centre of the rebrand

The website is the core brand asset for all online member activity. From joining the Network, to accessing multilingual, multimedia resources and inspiration for city-led action, the website is the first port of call for anyone looking to learn more about the Strong Cities Network. So, it was important we considered a user-centered approach, changing conventional web design to something more app-based, balancing function with relevancy of journey. This ensured a seamless experience for various user types, including city officials, practitioners, partner organisations, and national and international level stakeholders.

The navigation was streamlined to provide easy access to key sections such as modes of engagement, thematic areas of focus, event reports, impact and resources. The streamlined content structure has made it significantly easier for users to find relevant information, resulting in increased engagement and longer visit durations.

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Unlocking the full potential of city-led prevention

In addition to the website, the project included an extensive toolkit of branding assets tailored to support consistent messaging across the global network. The rollout of these assets has not only delivered significant visual impact but also coherency in communications across the global network.

This toolkit and the strategic rollout of these assets at conferences, webinars, capacity-building workshops, or within general communications, embodies and further projects a confidence that benefits the Network, its members, and relationships forged in delivery of the Strong Cities mission.

Technology insights

Overview

The project involved taking over an existing WordPress CMS based website, creating a new modernised website which incorporates a modern editing experience and deep integration with automated multi language tools to deliver a multi faceted website for an international audience.

Key integrations

Automated multi language support
CRM Integration
Immersive 3D mapping

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The Results

As a result of the rebranding and website redesign, the Strong Cities Network experienced increased engagement and greater visibility and understanding of the impact of its mission. The enhanced online platform, mobile optimisation and online Resource Hub helped disseminate valuable resources and good practices, making the Network’s approaches and frameworks for preventing and responding to hate, extremism and polarisation more accessible to city leaders around the world.

The Strong Cities Network rebrand and website redesign proved to be a strategic move that aligned the organisation’s visual identity with its mission and enhanced its online presence. By prioritising user experience, clear communication and knowledge sharing, Strong Cities successfully created a digital hub that fosters collaboration, empowers cities and is unlocking the power of local action to address a rapidly evolving threat landscape.