The challenge

How do you rebrand a well-established charity to reflect a broader mission without losing the trust and recognition built over decades?

The Ménière's Society faced a pivotal moment. Since Marie La Touche founded the charity in 1987 following her husband George's struggle with Ménière's disease, and her own experience of the isolation that comes with understanding so little about vestibular conditions, they'd become champions for those living with Ménière's disease. Nearly four decades later, the charity recognised the need to expand their reach to embrace the wider community of people affected by all vestibular conditions. Due in part to a name change their existing identity wasn't representing the direction the charity was moving in. They required a fresh new look to go with the new name.

The process

Getting under the skin

Working closely with company management and Trustees, we explored their heritage and exciting future plans.
Understanding the medical background was key. Ménière's disease, which causes dizziness and imbalance, was first identified in the early 1800s by French doctor Prosper Ménière, who discovered that these symptoms come from the inner ear.

Uncovering the magic

My first focus was to shift messaging to focus on the people being helped. Moving from a condition-specific approach to a supportive, inclusive one ‘support for dizziness & balance disorders’ - This statement positioned the organisation as an ally rather than just a source of information.

Building on this insight, I developed a strategic messaging framework around Mé&Ve - a shorthand that works on multiple levels. It directly references the charity whilst forming the basis for their new web and social media presence 'meandve.org.uk' and 'meandveuk', but more importantly, it provided the foundation for personal communication around conditions: 'Me & my Vestibular condition.' This framework gives the organisation a flexible structure for connecting with people on a deeply personal level while maintaining their brand presence and medical credibility. The acute accent (é) has been retained as a nod to Prosper Ménière, maintaining the link to the condition's medical heritage.

Getting right to the heart

The concept for the new identity came from this medical foundation. By using a hand-drawn swirl as a representation of the cochlear and inner ear, where vestibular conditions originate. The outer 'bubble' shape represents the ear itself, a speech bubble and when rotated, a brain. This cleverly reflects how Ménière's and vestibular conditions affect both balance and can affect neurological function, creating a visual system that works on many levels whilst remaining grounded in the charities medical foundations.

Consistency delivered

At the heart of any great brand is consistency and a story. When asked what the logo represents, our identity enables staff to unpack their brand's story. The positioning further supports this. It's early days but we're ensuring wherever the brand appears, the experience will be a unified one. Building the strategic messaging framework to work across all touchpoints from 'Mé&Ve' the charity's newly renamed magazine, to their digital presence, creating a cohesive system. We're also setting up their brand assets in Canva, ensuring every team member can access what they need to maintain brand consistency across all communications.

The results so far

The rebrand has successfully positioned Ménière's and Vestibular UK as the UK's leading voice for vestibular health, enabling them to grow their impact and extend support to more individuals and families navigating vestibular challenges.

Services

Brand identity
+ Creative platform
+ Guidelines
+ Website (coming soon)
+ Social
+ Printed collateral
+ Member welcome packs
+ Quarterly magazine
+ Event materials
+ Merchandise
+ Presentation templates
+ Canva templates