Looking back at British Lung Foundation’s iconic visual identity

4 July 2024

During Brigid’s first design role at Fitch and Co, her team was commissioned by startup respiratory disease charity British Lung Foundation in search of a visual identity that reflected its purpose: to raise awareness and increase funding into lung conditions – from asthma to COPD.

Professor Sir Malcolm Green, highly-respected respiratory doctor and founder of British Lung Foundation, recalls, “Brigid showed us some conventional images, only to dismiss them as too boring or too old fashioned. She then came up with the striking Balloon Logo, with the inspired touch that the outline of the balloon was O2, the symbol for oxygen: the necessary essence of life and the purpose of the lungs.”

Despite some initial apprehension about its reception from the ‘academic’ exec board, the Balloon Logo soared. Lady Diana, the charity’s patron from the outset, helped launch BLF at Chelsea Physic Gardens with a flurry of red balloons. Many subsequent fundraising campaigns followed, featuring the now iconic, red balloon logo. In Malcolm’s words, “It was highly innovative at a time when most charities had traditional images and logos.” Combining a clever scientific idea with a strong visual icon, the stand out identity not only helped put BLF on the map with the media, but also with doctors, patients, volunteers, and the wider public.

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