What's in a logo?
/For over three years now, Suicide Bereavement Support Cumbria has used a red and orange lifebelt as its symbol and logo. When the branding was developed, there was a lot of discussion about what might symbolise the work of the charity and the support that was available.
“People kept mentioning phrases like “SBS was a lifesaver” or “you kept me afloat at the worst of times” and the idea of a lifebelt as a symbol for SBS emerged from those discussions,” says John Brown, Chairman.
We have used the lifebelt logo since we changed our identity to SBS Cumbria
Today, that logo is used across our website, social media, publications, reports, advertising and lots of other applications – we hope that it continues to tell a story of what we’re about as a self-help organisation and support network across Cumbria and the surrounding area for those bereaved by suicide.
Googling lifebelt comes up with some interesting insights:
A lifebelt is displayed next to deep water so that it is ready and available for use to prevent drowning.
We hope you’ll never need us but, if you do, you need to know we’re there and available to help. That’s why we spend money on our website and other publicity so that families and communities, organisations and healthcare professionals, businesses and other charities know who we are, what we do and how to contact us.
A lifebelt is a life-saving buoy, designed to be thrown to a person in the water.
If you need support after bereavement by suicide, SBS is all about making connections with others who have shared that experience and understand more of what you’re thinking, feeling and going through than anyone else. If the lifebelt is there and you know about it, you can call on our members and facilitators to throw out that lifebelt, make the connection and help you to cope.
A lifebelt is designed to help you float if you fall into water.
It’s not always about getting you out of the water – the first purpose of a lifebelt is to keep your head above water while you’re in it. For many of those who come to us for help, that’s the first stage – a reassurance that they’re not on their own, there are people who understand and there’s support available. No one can make a lot of the emotions go away – that’s not what we’re about as there are no simple answers and no single answers either – but we can encourage and support you through tough times as you find your way forward.
T-shirts and running vests featuring our logo are worn by fundraisers to raise awareness too.
A lifebelt is also known as a life preserver.
Our focus isn’t on suicide prevention – there are other organisations with more expertise on this than SBS Cumbria. We’re also all too aware that some of the more simplified messages about prevention can be quite disturbing for those who are bereaved by suicide and already asking themselves what they could have done to prevent it. But we know our self-help approach can help people get through the darkest of times and can be a “real life saver”. We recognise that people who have been touched by suicide may themselves be at risk of taking their lives. This risk is never far from our thoughts as we strive to provide access to a lifeline provided by those who themselves understand, listen and support – what is sometimes called postvention rather than prevention.
It's interesting to think about these aspects of what we do and why our logo is so appropriate. We’re proud of our lifebelt and its symbolism and have recently invested in T-shirts and running vests so that our fundraisers can display it clearly. We’ve also bought metal lapel pins that, while quite subtle, are ideal for our members and facilitators to wear at events, identifying them as SBS volunteers and also creating a feeling of being part of the broader SBS team – look out for them in the months to come.
Chairman, John Brown, wearing one of our logo lapel pins. These work well to identify our volunteers at events.
And please let us know if you see even more significance or symbolism in the SBS lifebelt – we’re always keen to keep in touch. Thank you.
