Real progress

The Real Progress branding 'lozenge'.

Real Progress was a strapline, brand and theme of the Green Party of England and Wales in the 2004 European Election and the 2005 General Election. It was the subject of a Guardian editorial simply entitled "Real progress".

Origins

It was conceived by the Publications Co-ordinator on the Green Party of England and Wales#Executive 25-year-old Matt Wootton in late Summer 2003. It was first used in a leaflet at the Green Party's Autumn Conference in Lancaster in 2003. The Real Progress phrase was based on a theme initiated by External Communications Co-ordinator 2000-2004 Dr Spencer Fitz-Gibbon. By the end of the year Wootton had employed graphic designer Jim Killock to unify the words Green Party and Real Progress in a single "badge" and the "lozenge" was born, inspired as a homage to the European Green Party's "rhomb" which Wootton and Killock considered clunky (see Wootton's homepage).

Stylistic changes

The Real Progress rebrand was also a house style change, using a new set of colours, according to Wootton's website, inspired by the colours used on the website of the Swedish Green Party.

The rebrand utilised a designer typeface - the first time the Green Party had used one - which was chosen to be the modern-looking FF Profile which was chosen for its progressive, clean and slightly quirky qualities.

Impact and significance

The rebrand was first launched to the media at the Spring Conference 2004 and made was covered by the BBC and The Times. The Times article^[1] demonstrates the importance of the rebrand to the Green Party at that time, with the party apparently eschewing "beards, sandals and nut cutlets" for "sharp suits, a new colour scheme, a corporate logo and an “upbeat” range of “commonsense” policies."

Although not an essentially research-based rebrand created using qualitative feedback, Wootton and Killock (Killock joined the Executive the next year) went on to become the party's two leading advocates of research and demographics.

A series of Guardian articles are below, demonstrating the impact of the rebranding.

References

↑ Greens to drop sandals for suits and soundbites

Green Party of England and Wales

Leadership

Leader

Caroline Lucas (2008–2012)
Natalie Bennett (since 2012)

Deputy Leader

Adrian Ramsay (2008–2012)
Will Duckworth (2012–2014)
Amelia Womack (since 2014)
Shahrar Ali (since 2014)

Leadership elections

Principal Speakers
(abolished in 2008)

1991–1992

Sara Parkin
Jim Berreen
Andrew Simms
Jean Lambert
David Spaven
Derek Wall

1992–2008

Female	Jean Lambert (1992–1993) Jan Clark (1993–1995) Peg Alexander (1995–1997) Jean Lambert (1998–1999) Margaret Wright (1999–2003) Caroline Lucas (2003–2006) Siân Berry (2006–2007) Caroline Lucas (2007–2008)

Male	Richard Lawson (Feb–Sep 1992) Mallen Baker (1992–1993) John Cornford (1993–1994) David Taylor (1994–1997) Mike Woodin (1997–2001) Darren Johnson (2001–2003) Mike Woodin (2003–2004) Keith Taylor (2004–2006) Derek Wall (2006–2008)

Political representation

British Parliament

House of Commons (MPs)	Caroline Lucas

House of Lords (Peers)	Jenny Jones

European Parliament (MEPs)

Devolved chambers

London Assembly (AMs)	Darren Johnson Jenny Jones

Organisation

History

History Election results

Predecessor parties	PEOPLE Party (1973–75) The Ecology Party (1975–85) The Green Party of Great Britain (1985–1990)

Sister parties	Green Party in Northern Ireland (now part of the Irish Green Party) Scottish Green Party

Movements	Green 2000

Organisation

Party platform

International affiliations

Category

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, February 18, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.