We’ve spoken to Canine Partners CEO, Lucy Eldred, about our rebrand.
Today (16 March 2026) we’ve unveiled a fresh new look, but our mission hasn’t changed. We’re still dedicated to creating loving, life-changing partnerships between disabled people and expertly trained assistance dogs.
Why did you decide to rebrand?
Our rebrand journey began at the end of 2024, as we started our 35th anniversary celebrations and looked to the future, focusing on making our five-year strategy a reality.
We’ve created more than 1,000 life-changing partnerships between people and assistance dogs. But we know many more disabled people could benefit from our support. To reach them, we need to raise more funds and recruit more volunteers. As we considered what would make that growth possible, it became clear that increasing awareness through a strong, distinctive brand would be key.
We remain dedicated to the original mission set by our founders Anne Conway and Dr Elizabeth Ormerod. But over the past 35 years, our work has evolved. Today our canine careers support people in different ways – from Canine Partners with access rights, to Canine Home Assistants and Canine Companions – and our brand needed to reflect these developments.
While we’re well known and loved among our purple people, our last brand update was more than ten years ago. It no longer reflected who we are today and wasn’t designed for the digital-first world we now operate in. Our rebrand was designed to show that we are a modern, accessible, and inclusive disability charity with real assistance dog expertise.
Tell us more about the journey you’ve been on during the rebrand.
We started with a series of focus groups with staff, volunteers, supporters and partners to understand how people felt about the brand and whether it still reflected who we are today. Their feedback highlighted areas for improvement:
- Our brand wasn’t as inclusive as it should be, particularly the logo, which some felt didn’t represent everyone we support.
- Our fonts, colours and graphics weren’t always accessible.
- Our brand didn’t fully showcase the impact of our work or the independence our dogs bring to partners’ lives.
- It didn’t reflect our professional approach to dog welfare and training.
- Overall, it felt old-fashioned and, at times, a little childish.
But it wasn’t all negative. People love our signature purple and what it represents within the disability community. They also told us how much they enjoy seeing photos and videos of our puppies and dogs doing what they do best – training and supporting their partners.
These insights laid the foundations for developing our new brand over the past 18 months. A strong, accessible and distinctive brand will help us raise awareness, grow our support, and ultimately help more disabled people.
How did you develop the new brand?
From the start, we wanted the rebrand to reflect the people who make up our community. We involved staff, volunteers, supporters and partners throughout the process, gathering feedback to understand what people value most about Canine Partners and what needed to evolve.
We were also mindful of keeping costs low and ensuring that every pound spent would deliver long-term value for our charity. Much of the work was done collaboratively with our internal team and trusted partners, helping us make thoughtful changes without unnecessary expense.
Importantly, this wasn’t about starting again. Canine Partners has built a strong and much-loved identity over the past 35 years, and we wanted to keep the best parts of that. Our new brand builds on what people already recognise and trust, while refreshing it so it works better in today’s digital-first world and supports our future ambitions.
Have disabled people been involved in the rebrand?
Yes. In addition to the original focus groups, we regularly asked our core stakeholders – including our partners – for feedback as the brand developed, and we used that input to shape key changes.
This was especially important because many partners had told us that the old brand didn’t represent them, and we wanted to address that.
For example, while partners loved the illustrations we created, they didn’t feel they accurately reflected the variety of wheelchair styles used. We took this on board and redesigned the illustrations, using our partners as inspiration to make them more representative.
Why have you removed the wheelchair from your logo?
Stakeholders told us that, while the wheelchair is widely recognised as a symbol of disability, it doesn’t fully reflect the people we support. Our dogs assist people with a wide range of disabilities and conditions, not all of whom use a wheelchair.
As we explored other ideas for the logo, one theme became clear: the constant in our work is our dogs. We support people with varied needs using dogs trained for different roles. Whether they are Canine Partners, Canine Home Assistants or Canine Companions, it’s the bond between our dogs and their partners that changes lives. That is what we wanted the new logo to celebrate.
Although it marks a change from our historic logos, it is just one part of the new brand. Wheelchairs and other disability aids will continue to be represented across our photography, illustrations and real-life stories.
How much did the rebrand cost?
We value every penny that is donated and have a duty to use it wisely to ensure the greatest impact. We’ve used surplus funds to pay for the rebrand, not money donated to create partnerships.
We kept the cost of the developing the new brand as low as possible by utilising the skills of our in-house teams. We then worked with some incredibly talented freelancers to bring our vision to life, which cost around £15,000.
This a one-off investment that will help us continue our mission, raise more funds, and recruit more volunteers. We’re confident it is money well spent and hope others will agree.
What other steps have you taken to be cost effective?
To make sensible use of charity funds, we’ve taken an evolutionary approach to updating the brand.
Several key assets have been updated immediately – including our website (kindly funded by an ADUK grant), our dog jackets, staff and volunteer uniforms, and National Training Centre. Old uniform and dog jackets are being recycled into dog toys or donated to ensure minimal waste.
Other materials, such as merchandise or leaflets, will be used until they run out or need replacing.
Finally, what is your favourite part of the new brand?
I love the energy! It is dynamic, modern, and inclusive, which is what it feels like to be part of our amazing charity. It is such an exciting time for Canine Partners and I feel so lucky and privileged to be leading such an incredible organisation.
Everything about our new brand aligns with what we have set out in our strategy, to help more people with our amazing dogs. I am so proud of our purple team that have got us this far and can’t wait to see what we can all achieve together.
