Taxi Charity volunteer Susy Goodwin reveals the importance of branding and the charity’s history
- Mar 3
- 4 min read
Susy walks us through the development of the charity’s logo and how she redesigned what we see today, while sharing personal memories along the way.
My husband, Dick Goodwin, was invited onto the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans committee in 2004, and it just so happened they needed some forms sorting for the trip to Normandy in 2008.
I offered to do them and the rest, as they say, is history. (They also say if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!)
Design has always fascinated me – every single aspect of it. We are surrounded by it, both good and bad, every minute of every day. It matters even when we don’t realise it. Branding is hugely important for any organisation from the very small to the global.
The original name for the charity was The London Taxi Benevolent Association for War Disabled, which was a bit of a mouthful, so it was agreed to alter it to the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans.
Colourful decisions
The original logo was full colour. In the days before digital printing this could be expensive and it all looked a bit busy. So we changed that to a single colour (or white out of a solid colour) which looked much smarter, tidier and was easier to apply.
I often asked what the various components of the original logo actually stood for, but no one seemed to be able to tell me! So, we finally decided to try and make it even simpler by just using the name itself.
When considering the new look for the charity, we couldn’t change it too radically or no one would recognise it anymore. So we started with the colour. It was dark blue, which is a little cold and a bit dull, so we decided on a rich purple. Purple is a fabulous colour. Most people look good in it! Purple isn’t gender specific, it’s also classic and gives a powerful visual impression. Warm but not hot, serious but not boring, strong but not aggressive and not affiliated to any of the services (Army (red), RAF Airforce (blue) and Navy (dark blue)). Mixing blue and red together gives you purple. Purple as a colour (I hope) inspires trust and strength. You notice it in a crowd and a group of our volunteers all wearing their purple tops looks fantastic.
Back to the Beaches
For our trip to Normandy in 2017, we came up with the working title of Back to the Beaches. We applied this to all the promotional literature and the wonderful people at Ubiquitous did a full wrap for one of the cabs, showing Navy veteran Peter Kent on the beach at Arromanches. It looked fantastic and if you happened to be on a bus or looking out of an office window, you might have spotted a spitfire flying across the roof!
I also designed a cab for Mike Hughes and his brilliant Poppy Cabs initiative and am currently working on a new wrap for the Taxi Charity. In today’s world you are fighting with so much promotional content and advertising in the city.
As always, Ubiquitous are unbelievably generous to us. Although I had designed vehicle livery before, I had never attempted a London Cab, and I was terrified I would muck it up!
But Ubiquitous are always so helpful and tell me when I’ve suggested something daft or just won’t work. I am a big believer in ‘less is more’, so fingers crossed the new cabs will stand out.
It was slightly easier with the older TX cabs. The new TXEs have a glass panel in the roof that can’t be used as part of the design, and although the surface area on a London cab is pretty extensive it isn’t flat. If you aren’t careful, a crucial part of a design could be lost in a recess or behind a piece of the vehicle structure.
Dutch memories
For the trip to Holland in 2015, when we took 96 cabs to join the Dutch Liberation celebrations. It was something I shall never forget. The sight of all those London cabs driving down the motorway from the Hook of Holland to Arnhem was just breathtaking. The Dutch police closed the motorway and gave us a motorcycle escort for the entire journey. Only Dutch Royalty and Barack Obama have received such an honour. It makes me furious our drivers and veterans do not get the recognition here at home that they do in the Netherlands. London cabbies and so many individuals and businesses associated with the cab trade, are superb ambassadors.
Background
So, what led me into graphic design? My favourite subjects at school were art and history (and swimming) and I originally wanted to be a cabinet maker. (My mum wanted to send me to Denmark because she loved Scandinavian design – or just wanted me out of the country!)
I went on to do a degree at art college, followed by a course in bookbinding at Camberwell College. Doing various related literature and design jobs as I developed my career. I moved into graphic design creating anything that was needed: newspapers, magazines, brochures, posters, advertising, signage, maps, vehicle livery, corporate ID and exhibitions. I also worked on a voluntary basis with a local museum, designing and curating several exhibitions for them, and worked with my husband Dick as a wedding photographer on the weekends.
If I could sum up this remarkable charity in three words, it would be Dedicated, Welcoming and (most of all) Magical.
