Planning Aid Scotland

Planning Aid Scotland is an educational charity and outreach organisation that helps people understand and engage with the planning system, giving communities greater agency over changes to the places where they live and greater visibility within planning processes. Its architects, planners and volunteers deliver support through a community education programme and advice line, with a particular focus on areas of deprivation and a vision of an inclusive society where people are at the heart of decisions about their places.

The organisation needed a contemporary brand that could help dispel perceptions of the planning system as gatekept and outdated. It was important to communicate Planning Aid Scotland’s expertise while remaining welcoming and approachable to people seeking support, balancing the needs of industry professionals, government and community members.

Our Bold Team's workshop process also revealed that the name had become a barrier. Although the organisation was widely known as PAS within the sector, the abbreviation meant little to the newer audiences it wanted to reach. At the same time, with 30 years of experience behind the organisation, the new identity needed to build on that history rather than change direction entirely.

Our Bold Studio team brought the full Planning Aid Scotland name to the forefront of the brand rather than relying on the PAS initials, making the organisation more immediately visible and understandable to audiences outside the sector.

We developed a structured, technical logo system that references both Planning Aid Scotland’s work and its history. The graphical form draws on technical planning drawings, the cross represents the universal symbol for aid, and the saltire represents Scotland while connecting back to the organisation’s previous logo.

We balanced these technical references with a brighter colour palette and grid pattern to create an identity that feels both professional and approachable. We also developed an additional numerical system for the organisation’s 30th anniversary, celebrating its experience to date while signalling its renewed approach for the future.

We equipped Planning Aid Scotland with a modern, positive and welcoming brand system designed to support its future ambitions and help more people engage with the topics and decisions that affect their lives.

The new identity was rolled out across the organisation’s website, and the rebrand launched in September 2023 with a return to the original Planning Aid Scotland name. The additional anniversary system also gave the organisation a visual way to celebrate 30 years of experience while looking ahead to its next chapter.