ESP Foundation Branding

It was essential that the ESP Foundation brand identity and voice struck a careful balance between institutional credibility and street-level authenticity. At the heart of ESP Foundation is a drive for inclusivity and community, and we wanted to ensure our designs were reflective of that.

For this rebrand we focused on building something that resonates in boardrooms and community centres, on streets and estates. The branding needs to speak the same visual language as the brands young people already love and trust, to ensure they engage with it.

The aim is simple: create something people are proud to rep, not something they wear out of obligation. To counter this, ESP Foundation is a charity and it’s important that we created an identity for them that could comfortably sit on official documents, command attention in meetings and feel representative of the great work they do.

To anchor this vision, we've developed a bold geometric E–S–P letterform that nods to sport iconography and classic monograms - rooting the identity in movement, purpose and belonging. Contrasting the simple graphic lettering with a vibrant colour palette meant the brand could flex across different contexts, whilst keeping its edge.

As part of this visual system, graphic elements accompany the monogram to represent the three core pillars: Education, Sport, and Policy. These elements are designed to enhance communications and media, reinforcing the Foundation's purpose through a unified visual language.

“What Rosie Lee delivered goes beyond branding; it's a statement of who we are and who we stand with. They understood that ESP Foundation lives between two worlds: the grassroots and the institutional.

The result is an identity that feels credible in a boardroom and authentic on the block. It’s something our young people are proud to wear, not because they have to, but because it represents them.”

Eartha Pond, Founder, ESP Foundation