When an organization has been around since 1868 — before Portland had paved roads, before Oregon was even two decades into statehood — a rebrand isn’t cosmetic. It’s a declaration.
PB& just helped Oregon Humane make one. The Portland institution, one of the oldest humane societies in the country and the oldest in the West, dropped “Society” from its name, overhauled its visual identity, and came out the other side looking like something born this morning. Same heart. Entirely new energy.
The work — led by PB& founder Britt Fero — includes a new logo, a vibrant color palette, a cast of illustrated animal characters and hand-painted murals inside the shelter itself. The old logo was a house-shaped mark with animals tucked inside. The new one is a bold, circular intertwining of “O” and “H” in warm coral, paired with “Oregon Humane” in deep navy. It’s confident and joyful in ways that animal welfare branding rarely is.
158 years is a lot of name recognition to mess with
Oregon Humane was founded in 1868. It’s the fourth-oldest humane society in the United States. Dropping a word from that name takes nerve — but the organization has quietly outgrown the word “Society” over the past few years.
A Community Veterinary Hospital, an Animal Crimes Forensic Center, and a Behavior & Rescue Center doubled the organization’s size. A merger with Willamette Humane Society in Salem expanded its footprint into the mid-Valley. Oregon Humane now operates across two campuses, receives no government funding and runs entirely on donors.
The name needed to match the scale.
The identity that looks like joy
The visual system PB& built isn’t just a logo swap. It’s an entire world.
The illustrated characters — dogs, cats, and rabbits, all rendered in the new brand colors — appear on everything from digital assets to the shelter walls. Those walls are the standout detail: hand-painted murals inside the facility, bringing the brand to life in the space where the connections between people and pets happen.
The brief from Fero and her team was to match the outside to what was already happening inside — the joy of adoption, the chaos of a new puppy, the quiet moment when someone finds their dog. The old brand didn’t capture any of that. This one does.
Why this one hits close to home
Oregon Humane is headquartered on NE Columbia Boulevard in Portland — the same city where Indie Agency News calls home. We’ve walked those halls. We’ve met those animals. And seeing an indie agency from up the road in Seattle give one of Portland’s most beloved institutions a visual identity this alive is the kind of work worth celebrating.
This is what indie agencies do. They take the brief personally.
Learn more
PB&
Brittany Fero LinkedIn
PB& LinkedIn
Oregon Humane
Oregon Humane LinkedIn
Contact: br***@**********le.com
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