Every year, thousands of young people are lost from mainstream education as victims of a system that struggles to deal with their difficult backgrounds. 

Our charity partner – The Northampton Saints Foundation – bring hope to these young people. Enabling students to learn, develop new skills, increase confidence and where appropriate return to education, training or employment.

The Foundation know what it is like to have been born out of difficult circumstances. In 1880, Northampton Saints Rugby Football Club was formed when Reverend Wathan Wigg identified rugby as a way to channel the energies of some of the county’s more troubled youngsters.

We started with a brand discovery phase with staff and students, to understand their experiences and to uncover what it is that makes the foundation such an empowering place for youngsters to be part of. And it soon became clear that the work the foundation are doing today, resonated with the club’s origin - bringing troubled youngsters together in order to help them find direction, and encourage them to learn through the values of rugby.

This connection between the clubs past and present led us to the Foundation’s new strapline "Our History, Their Future'.

With the new strapline in place, we set about creating a new lockup of the logo that incorporated the wording. 

We also set about scripting and directing a film that the Foundation could use to help explain the work they do. And art-directing photoshoots that captured the students in their surroundings.

Our relationship with the Foundation continues to grow as they do. Each year, they now educate more than 6000 children in mainstream schools, and over 200 young people attend their social inclusion hubs, where they learn new skills, build self-esteem, confidence and belief.

We continue to develop tools and graphics that help them promote the wonderful work they do. 2022 saw us create the latest iteration of their Annual Impact Report where we worked with the team to update the brand to a fresher, more impactful style.

This illustrative and typographical direction was inspired by the work the students develop in the classroom, annotating their workings with expressive scribbles and the sketching of ideas.

We also wanted to empower the Foundation team to develop their own marketing materials, and helped them create and curate an online platform where they can create media posts. This includes a library of all their brand assets, from logos to photography to illustrations. Which they can then use to populate pre-existing templates which we have developed. Streamlining the process, and ensuring brand consistency.

The Foundation now has five hubs across Northamptonshire, Milton Keynes and Ipswich where youngsters can take part in a wide range of social and emotional development opportunities alongside physical activities from crazy golf, trampolining and various sports.

And they can proudly boast that over 93% of their young people have moved onto positive placements in education, training or employment.

They continue to give every individual that needs their services, the chance for a positive future.

View the full project here: https://www.whpcreative.com/work/northampton-saints-foundation/