Royal Kennel Club

Full rebrand and repositioning

Royal Kennel Club rebrand, The Drum Awards Finalist, Design 2026
Finalist, The Drum Awards, Design 2026
Royal Kennel Club and Crufts rebrand

Challenge

Following the honour of receiving the Royal prefix, the UK’s leading organisation for dog health and welfare began a new chapter.

This moment called for a complete modernisation of how the Royal Kennel Club and Crufts showed up in the world — clarifying their roles, strengthening their connection and setting the foundations for a renewed public and member reappraisal of both brands.

Solution

Working in partnership with the Royal Kennel Club, we ran internal workshops and new external market research to understand how both brands were perceived, what people valued, and where reappraisal was needed. From these insights, we defined clear roles and a shared purpose for the Royal Kennel Club and Crufts, clarified their audiences, and built the strategic foundations for a unified identity system.

We redrew the Royal Kennel Club crest by hand, refined the Crufts logotype, introduced a modern colour palette and developed new distinctive brand assets designed to elevate recognition and deepen emotional engagement. Alongside the identity work, we redesigned the UX and UI for both sites so the new brand could express itself consistently across digital touchpoints. We also created rollout templates, design systems and a full brand toolkit to support confident and cohesive implementation.

Outcome

The refreshed identities gave the Royal Kennel Club and Crufts a modern, unified presence rooted in their heritage but designed for the future.

Research showed a clear uplift in preference for the new Royal Kennel Club logo, particularly among younger dog owners, confirming the strength of the new direction and the opportunity to broaden appeal.

Both brands now have a fully aligned identity system supported by a comprehensive digital brand guide, updated UX and UI, and ready-to-use templates that ensure consistent, confident implementation.

With a clearer purpose, a stronger visual presence and an identity built to invite reappraisal, the Royal Kennel Club and Crufts are equipped to grow their relevance, deepen engagement and confidently lead this new era for every dog in the UK.

“The first time I saw the two dogs looking up at the coronet, I laughed, then I realised that was exactly the point. A Royal crest that still has personality is a difficult thing to get right, and I don’t think anyone else would have found a way to make heraldry feel this warm. It says everything about who we are now without a single word.”
Jannine Edgar
Chief Executive, Royal Kennel Club