Changing Lives Charity

Certainly not your run-of-the-mill chain of local charity shops, Changing Lives Charity sets out to do just that. Change lives.

Thrift shops and furniture reconditioning fund the charity’s outreach programme for people recovering from past trauma or harmful behaviours. With a focus on addressing root causes, and supporting every individual with a whole-person approach. Changing Lives Charity has a unique offering, encompassing a residential therapeutic community and employment for those ready to rediscover their potential.

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Items re-branded: 176
Orders in 6 months of going live

With the charity evolving and growing, it was time to better represent the heart of the charity with a new brand and website.

CLC have always been focused on the ‘doing’ - running their services and helping people. Having taken on more and more shops, premises, and services over the last ten years, things were feeling disjointed. Making it difficult for newcomers to CLC to see the full picture of services, how it all fits together, and why they were doing it.

CLC leaders and trustees wanted a visual identity in the same language as their values of compassion, unconditional acceptance, teamwork, professional and personal integrity.

The new brand needed to provide the personality and versatility required to build a professional and consistent look across multiple locations, their fleet of vans, and online.

The new website needed a clear flow between pages, integration with their inventory system, and be SEO-optimised.

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“A true representation of our heart (as a faith based charity).”

Ian (CEO)

Concept

In understanding CLC’s approach to supporting individuals, we learned about the cycle of harm and what it means to break that cycle. Particularly how difficult and empowering it is to break a cycle of behaviour, and how life changing that moment can be.

Our designer, Max, worked on this cycle-breaking icon, pairing it with a holistic green colour palette for a sense of calm and hope. And a chunky, friendly typeface was a must.

Hand drawn illustrations by our freelance designer, Sindy, add warmth and humanity. This imagery is based on CLC’s values and work, representing the charity’s basis in Christianity without needing to be overtly religious. Things really got exciting when we combined these illustrations into a pattern.

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“You have transitioned us from local to national while keeping who we are at heart.”

Daniel, Trustee

Shopping for solutions

When it came to creating the new CLC website, there were some technical challenges to address. Staff and volunteers were struggling with stock errors due to a disconnect between the shops, the warehouse, and online.

It was imperative that navigating the website to find information and the process of buying products online was as clear and easy as possible. Dave and Polly worked with CLC to map this journey, optimising the site through planning and wireframing.

We did some research, and found Shopify to be the best platform for CLC’s needs - able to integrate with CLC’s existing systems, plus the ability to add functionality like delivery options, push notifications, and links with social media.

We added a heap of functionality to clarify the product buying process. We’ve enabled quicker and easier comms with people looking to donate items or book services. We’ve integrated CLC’s newsletter, and added ways for customers to tailor their comms from CLC.

The system has also been improved for staff. All shops are connected with the online shop, showing up-to-date product information. Shop stock is now easily accessible via staff’s mobile phones. Orders and customer sign-ups are clear and easy to manage.

Max worked his magic on the design, and the messaging got an overhaul. All new text for the website concisely introduces the charity, explaining their services and clarifying where supporters’ money goes.

And we needed some fresh, authentic photography to showcase the warmth and friendliness of everyone working to make CLC a success. So we sent our own in-studio photographer, Emily, down to their warehouse to get the folks’ best side.

Impact

CLC’s impact in our local community is incredible. The work they do has always deserved to be showcased and celebrated.

Their new brand now provides the foundations for them to do this. Consistency through all of their materials and premises has pulled together all of CLC’s services and really shows off the huge scope of the charity.

The website now provides a ‘home’ online that explains and showcases CLC. As well as gathering together all the important services required to keep the organisation going. It functions for them as it needs to, so the folks running this incredible charity can focus on what they love best - helping people.

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“Throughout the process, the team at Amperative were a delight to work with - and they have delivered really impressive outcomes both on the branding and the website.”

Ian, Trustee and CEO