Established in 1950, the vfdb remains the leading non-profit association for fire safety and catastrophe protection in Germany. Since its founding it has taken on an expanding role in conducting scientific research, developing technical standards and increasing awareness for all aspects of emergency response, safety and protection in German society. It has become an important force for innovation, but it was high time to change their outdated brand identity.

A main element of their brand was a red rooster mascot, which is traditionally a symbol for a fire. Our job was to keep the rooster and the red colour, but to update them. To look to the future, we first looked to the past. The new mascot has elements of a medieval coat of arms, but brought into the 21st century. It thus instantaneously sends the message of a modern organisation that is rooted in a long tradition. We added additional colours and also used a very modern typography to emphasise further the freshness of what the vfdb does.

The new brand found immediate universal excitement among both the vfdb membership and the wider emergency response community. The new brand can be seen on the freshly updated website: https://vfdb.de.