Baby Basics UK
In 2025 we launched an updated strategy, brand and website for Baby Basics UK.
Matt and Maddie from Bara Studio stand with Cat and Louise at the Baby Basics UK National Conference in 2025.
The Problem ❌
Team embarrassed by website
Dated visual brand making bad first impression
Unprofessional and limited website
Inconsistent communication
Struggling with content production
The Outcome 🙌
Over £3,500 raised within one month of brand update
Renewed confidence within team
Better conversations with external partners and potential donors
Consistent communications and design
Brand reflects strategic position and unique value proposition of charity
Strategy-first
We kicked off the brand update by revisiting the Baby Basics brand strategy. We focussed especially on developing a brand personality, target audience, unique value proposition and tone of voice.
The workshop and research highlighted several areas where the brand needed to prioritise its focus, and helped to bring clarity to points of view on what the brand stood for, and how it would deliver on its promises.
Most importantly, the brand strategy was something to guide us moving forwards. We were all on the same page before writing new copy, updating designs and improving the website.
Time to let the… bird…
out of the bag
Introducing: Birtie Bird
The beloved Birtie Bird has been a part of the Baby Basics visual brand since day 1, he wasn’t going anywhere.
As part of the visual brand update, we worked with the creative time to subtly improve the logo, making it digital-ready and ultra-clear.
The original logo used a thin typeface font which was partly hidden by Birtie Bird, and the dash and speech marks added clutter.
As well as updating the primary logo, we developed a suite of responsive assets which meant the brand could be identified at any scale, in any context.
New colours were added to the limited palette, as well as expanding the brand font collection. The style guide gives detailed and practical insight into how the brand should be applied in the real world - including web and social media.
One of the best ways to tell people the story of the hard working volunteers and staff who make this all possible was to get on site and take high quality photographs. We visited multiple sites to give a flavour of what happens around the country, and have now generated a bank of images which can be used online and in print.
It was now time to tackle the final, biggest hurdle. The original website looked like something straight out of the early naughties. A very limited design and functionality seriously restricted what purpose the website could serve. Team were ashamed to point people to it, and they were anxious to appoint an agency to work with them - fearing the process would be complex and time-consuming.
Louise explained to us that she went from cold-sweats when thinking about the website, to actually enjoying the process of updating it (a big win, in our books)!
We assisted with strategy and implementing several key new functionalities. The most important was creating a page template and process for national centres to create and maintain their own centre pages - giving everyone around the country a sense of ownership and pride when delivering their services online.
The Baby Basics brand was holding back the charity from reaching its full potential. They were embarrassed, ashamed and fearful. While we had no doubt that its audience were convinced that the charity was both credible and capable, we weren’t so sure about those experiencing the brand for the first time.
Now, we believe they’re putting their best foot forward and making an amazing impression every time. Whether that’s recruiting volunteers, seeking donations, exploring partnerships or engaging with referrers.
The logo may be a bird, but this brand is totally unflappable. (Sorry.)
We wanted to say a special thank you to Baby Basics for trusting us with this important task. Please consider viewing their new website and engaging with them online to raise awareness of the crucial work they’re doing: https://baby-basics.org.uk/
