Keep the Drums
Activist Brand Identity
Client: Keep the Drums
Founder: Sarian Karim Kamara
Sector: Women’s Rights & Anti-FGM Activism
Services: Brand Story • Visual Identity • Logo System • Brand Toolkit
Award: Impact Award (Creative Impact Club)
Overview
Keep the Drums is a survivor-led movement founded by activist Sarian Karim Kamara, who campaigns to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) across the Sierra Leonean community in the UK and abroad. Sarian’s work is rooted in education, cultural preservation, community support, and survivor advocacy.
The organisation needed a modern and uplifting brand identity that could help communicate its mission with clarity, confidence and cultural pride without retraumatising survivors or reinforcing stigma.
Discovery Phase and Creative Territories
Moodboard for 'Bold Rhythm'
Moodboard for 'West African Flower'
Moodboard for 'Story Threads'
The Challenge
FGM is an extremely sensitive and painful topic. As a designer without lived experience, it was essential to approach this project with deep empathy, listening, and reverence for the stories being shared.
The design needed to:
• Avoid triggering or overly direct references to FGM
• Create an approachable, safe visual language for survivors
• Reflect West African cultural heritage with authenticity
• Support Sarian’s efforts to secure funding and visibility
• Convey hope and community strength, not sorrow or trauma
The previous brand did not reflect the boldness of Sarian’s activism or the positivity of her approach.
Approach
The project began with time spent with Sarian in her Peckham community shop, listening to her story and learning about the cultural symbols, fabrics and drums connected to her heritage.
Rather than focusing on the drum as an object, we focused on the sound of the drum, a symbol of community, unity, and celebration. Through sketches and exploration, this became a simplified circular symbol representing liberation through sound, and the name evolved to Keep the Drums, removing references to “the knife” to avoid both stigma and associations with weapon-based violence in London.
The colour palette draws from West African textiles and the visual system centres on rhythmic, bright, and optimistic forms reflecting the joy and cultural pride at the heart of the movement.
Initial Logo Explorations
Deliverables
Refined brand story
Modern logo system inspired by drum soundwaves
Colour palette rooted in West African textiles
Rhythmic graphic language
Brand toolkit for fundraising, workshops and advocacy
Visual assets for digital and print
Impact
The new identity has become a tool of empowerment for Sarian, supporting her public speaking, ICA screenings, workshops and community outreach. It provides a culturally grounded yet hopeful visual language that survivors can feel safe approaching, and gives the organisation a professional presence to support funding applications and partnerships.
Outcome
Keep the Drums now has a bright, celebratory and culturally resonant brand—one that honours the resilience of survivors while expressing the optimism and determination at the core of Sarian’s work. The identity helps amplify her mission and gives the movement a visual home that reflects both its courage and its joy.
