Our logo
Our heritage
Our logo is made up of 2 elements, our trefoil and our name.
Our trefoil
Our trefoil is the unifying symbol of Girlguiding across the world. Each part of the trefoil has a meaning. And our new trefoil keeps the important values of the original symbol created in 1910:
The 3 leaves
The 3 leaves represent the 3 parts of the promise:
Self
Being true to myself and developing my beliefs.
Others
Serving the King and my community, helping other people.
Keeping the Guide law
Following the 6 parts of the law, such as being honest, a good friend and respecting all living things.
Guiding star
Represents the Guide law - the star has 5 outer points and 5 inner points, which together stand for the original 10 laws.
2 letter Gs
Is a heritage reference to the longest running version of our trefoil.
The stem
The stem of the trefoil points forwards and towards the guiding star, showing the direction our members move in. It's also been referred to as a flame and a compass point.
Girlguiding logo
Our primary and secondary logos
We have 2 versions of our logo; primary and secondary, as well as our symbol (the trefoil).
These are all white and sit on a dark blue background - this is our primary colourway. Whenever possible use the primary logo in the primary colourway.
Sometimes the primary logo might not fit the space. In these instances you can use the secondary logo. This could be for things like a website banner, a header or footer, or a sign that needs a landscape format.
White on dark blue is our primary colourway but sometimes it's just not practical. Perhaps when printing at home, or when our logo is positioned with a partner. In those instances you can use our secondary colourway of Girlguiding dark blue on a white background.
Our logos should never be used in any other colourways. And shouldn't be placed on photographs or patterned backgrounds. Never obscure the logo with other graphics, text, photographs or illustrations.
Primary logo, secondary logo and symbol in our 2 colourways:
Primary logo (white on blue)
Secondary logo (white on blue)
Symbol (white on blue)
Primary logo (blue on white)
Secondary logo (blue on white)
Symbol (blue on white)
Girlguiding logos
Clear space Give it space
Our logo should always be confident and proud. So it's important to have clear space around it.
The clear space area can easily be calculated from the star in the trefoil. Use the distance from the shoulders to the feet of the star as shown.
Primary logo
Symbol
Secondary logo
Girlguiding logos
Minimum sizes How big should they be?
To make sure our logos are easy to read, don't go smaller than our minimum sizes.
Use our primary logo where you can, and always stick to our minimum size requirements for our logo and trefoil.
Primary logo
Secondary logo
Symbol
When to use each one
How to use our logos
The Girlguiding primary logo should be used wherever possible to help people recognise Girlguiding.
If the primary logo won't fit the space then the secondary logo can be used.
Where space is very limited just the symbol can be used. But only on communications or products that clearly belong to Girlguiding.
You'll see examples throughout the guidelines, but if you're not sure which one to use, you can email us:
Primary logo
This is your primary go-to logo, use it whenever possible.
Secondary logo
Use this logo when only a landscape format will fit.
Symbol
Only use this when space is at a premium, and when it's clearly Girlguiding.
Your localised logo
Make it local
You can add a local name or unit underneath our logo. There is a fixed size and position for the local name, shown here. Local names are set in Poppins SemiBold and can appear in 1 or 2 lines. To create a localised logo, visit our online design centre.
How big should it be?
To make sure the logo is always easy to read, keep it to the minimum size or above.
Localised primary logo
Localised secondary logo
Partnerships
Using our logo with partners
The examples below show how we can balance our logo with our partner's logo
When we work with partners we lock-up our logo with theirs. Our logo is always on the left and we have ‘Working in partnership with’ above, with a key line separating the 2 logos.
This lock-up is our preferred way to show our brand when we’re working with partners on digital and print materials. But we know there are instances where this won’t be possible and a flexible approach should be taken.
For example, when creating a badge, this lock-up would be too big and you may need to position the Girlguiding branding separately to the partner logo. Follow our badge guidance advice in this instance.
It’s important to remember our logo and branding should never be compromised when working with a partner.
Consider carefully whether a partner's logo is needed on our materials, and always get permission to use it – you may need to check their clear space too.
Our connector logos
Proud to be part of Girlguiding
We want everyone who sees our section logos to understand they're part of the Girlguiding family. So, we use the Girlguiding connector logos to show this relationship. This also helps people understand that the positive benefits of Girlguiding are shared across all the sections. Use our connector logos as you see here - never add a local name to the connector logos.
Our connector logos (full version)
Our connector logos (trefoil only version)
You can find more information about using the connector logos in the sections part of these guidelines.
Symbols
Using symbols and patterns
We have 4 simplified symbols representing each of our sections. They playfully remind our audiences that we're a family of brands with girls at our heart.
You can use these as a set or pattern, large or small.
These symbols have been designed to work on the Girlguiding dark blue but they can overlap onto white to give a sense of fun and energy. And they can also sit over imagery where the contrast is high.
Never change the colours of the symbols or use on backgrounds different to those listed above.
Always try to represent the sections equally when using the symbols.
Our symbols
Colours
The Girlguiding colours are bright and playful, and designed to attract attention.
How to use them
When using our colours try to think about the balance between primary, secondary and accent colours. Make sure primary colours stand out more than secondary ones as it helps to make sure we're recognisable as Girlguiding. Accent colours should support the secondary colours.
Choose your colours carefully - aim for good contrast and visibility, this is important for accessibility. Avoid using too many at once!
To keep our colours fun, bright and vibrant, we never use tints. This helps our visual brand stay consistent and strong.
To see colour specifications in PANTONE, RGB, HEX and CMYK click on any of the colour swatches below.
If you'd like a printable version of the colour palette click the button below.
Primary colours
Girlguiding dark blue
Girlguiding mid blue
Girlguiding light blue
Secondary colours
Rainbows light blue
Rangers red
Brownies yellow
Brownies brown
Guides mid blue
Rangers purple
Typography
Our typefaces
We have 2 typefaces: Poppins and Zilla Slab.
Poppins is the primary typeface we use across all our communications. We chose Poppins because of its readability - it's clear and easy to read even at small sizes.
If you can't access Poppins, our substitute font is Century Gothic which has a similar feel and can be used in a range of weights. But where possible Poppins should always be used.
We also have a secondary typeface, Zilla Slab, which can be used for quotes and small pieces of copy - but never for body copy or headlines.
Poppins and Zilla Slab are free to download and use.
Typography
In action
Our typography is bold, legible and fun.
Use centred or ranged left text - but not ranged right or justified as these are difficult formats to navigate.
Be mindful of size and colour combinations so your copy is as bold and legible as it can be.
To highlight key information use a Girlguiding dark blue background, with headers and sub headers in Girlguiding light blue.
Make sure all body copy is Girlguiding dark blue on a white background.
Have a clear structure in place - Regular is a good start for body copy, Bold and SemiBold for headings and sub headings. Hanging indents and numbered bullets help to organise and structure your narrative, making it easy to read and navigate. Ranged left typography is the most accessible.
Use Zilla Slab for quotes to highlight girl and volunteer voices. Remember to use the Girlguiding light blue for text that's on the dark blue.
Use accessible colour combinations and add excitement to your text by mixing up the weights. But always make sure your text is clear and easy to read.
Are you being accessible?
The Girlguiding palette has it's own distinct primary colours. But it also includes colours from the section palettes - adding to the feeling of a family of brands. But this does mean we have a lot of colours.
Always consider your colour choices carefully, keeping your audience and accessibility in mind.
Here are some examples of good and bad colour contrasts from the Girlguiding brand.
Good colour contrast
The examples below are good high contrasting colour combinations. You can be sure your message is going to get through.
Maybe reconsider!
The colour combinations below may look great with illustrations or flat graphics but shouldn't be used for typography - unless it's for purely decorative reasons.
This online colour contrast checker is really useful for checking your digital materials are accessible.
You may see the following terms:
- AAA is the highest standard with excellent accessibility and usability for all audiences. Use this standard as much as you can.
- AA has strong accessibility and usability for most audiences. This is the minimum standard you should aim for.
Inspire
Inspire is Girlguiding’s community for women aged 18-30. It's a networking group, and not a section, so it sits under the Girlguiding master brand. It doesn't have its own logo and should follow the existing Girlguiding master brand guidelines.
When designing for Inspire:
- The Girlguiding logo (or trefoil if on badges) should be localised by the area as usual - with the word Inspire sitting separately.
- The word Inspire is not a logo and should not be locked up with the Girlguiding logo or used as a localised logo. The Girlguiding localised logo should be the lead branding.
- You can use the Poppins font and Girlguiding master brand colours to be creative with your designs.
- Please contact branding matters if you have any questions.