The Girl Scouts of the USA counts 1.7 million girls as members, spread across 112 independent councils – each of which, up until now, had been designing its own communications.

Collins has been working with the organisation since 2019 to create a new identity that brings its constituent parts together. According to the studio, the goal was to affirm the Girl Scouts’ place as “an unignorable and hopeful cultural force” in the lives of young women.

Collins’ rebrand embraces a neon, rainbow palette, as well as an updated version of the Girl Scouts’ trefoil – which has been in use since the organisation’s founding in 1912. Usually displayed in green, the symbol has been freed up to appear in a huge range of colours.

“It has seen many iterations, ranging from the American Eagle to girls’ silhouettes,” says Collins, adding that its recent simplification “embodies its most potent, iconic essence”.

While that sounds rather earnest, the rest of the branding is exuberant and joyous. Collins looked back at the organisation’s history of patches and badges – which Girl Scouts earn for learning new skills – to design a set of new geometric forms, which are “building blocks for design and interactivity”.

Comprising a huge range of shapes including shields, half barrels, flower, hearts, octagons and pennants, these motifs are used to create a common language for the Girl Scouts’ branding. A new custom typeface, designed by Positype and entitled Girl Scouts Serif, also creates consistency across comms.

Finally, to bring the brand up to date for a younger generation, Collins has overhauled its apparel and merchandise, blending vintage styles with contemporary design.

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