Introducing the We Animals Brand Evolution

In 2023, We Animals Media embarked upon an exciting brand evolution, aiming to better align our messaging, values, and visual identity with our mission to strategically advocate for animals through photojournalism.

As humanity’s use of animals expands, we decided to further define and clarify our NGO’s work, and today we are pleased to share this evolution with you.

Exposing the animals within...

Over 25 years ago, Jo-Anne McArthur took a photo of a capuchin monkey in Ecuador who was tied to a windowsill by a short chain and trained to amuse tourists. This image, and its potential for creating different conversations about animals, eventually led to what we call animal photojournalism, which reveals the experiences of animals who live among us but who we so often fail to see.

We Animals became a non-profit organization in 2019 after Jo-Anne spent two decades building it as a photographic and story-telling project that promoted the seeing and thinking about all animals.

As you know – and with the help of many of you! – we have grown our international network of animal photojournalists to over 120 contributors. They venture into farms, slaughterhouses, wet markets, and natural disasters with their cameras, putting themselves at physical and psychological risk to tell underreported stories. We are so proud of the investigations they have accomplished.

We are honoured to share their work on our stock platform, which, as of May 2024, has had well over 100,000 downloads from over 85 countries. Our visuals are used by organizations, media outlets, and individuals across the globe to inspire compassion, conversation, and change.

A group of piglets approaches Jo-Anne McArthur as she photographs them from the ground.

Stefano Belacchi / Essere Animali / We Animals

What we did and why we did it

We hired several experts to lead our team and many stakeholders in an examination of our brand to figure out what was working and what wasn’t. While we might look a little different, our values remain the same. In fact, we’ve clarified them and brought them to the fore.

Through these labours, we’ve refined our strategy, clarified our vision, and introduced a more active voice and energy to We Animals. We’ve updated our visual identity, which includes a new logo and a fresh website.

And yes, you read that right. We Animals. Drum roll? We’ve changed our name! Back to We Animals, which is how it all began.

Over the years, it became clear that “Media” boxed us in. Stakeholders agreed. And so we’ve shortened our name to reach beyond traditional “media” audiences. We do a lot more than “media”, but more on that soon.

Three raccoon dogs peek out from their small wire cages at a fur farm in Poland. The animals are curious about the photographers doing this nighttime investigation. Poland, 2015.

Andrew Skowron / We Animals

Vision, Mission, and Purpose

Our vision, mission, and purpose are our North Star. These guiding principles underscore every aspect of our work, from investigative photojournalism to education and empowerment initiatives.



Vision: A world in which all animals live free from human harm.



Mission: We advocate for animals through photojournalism. Our global investigations and stories expose our complex relationships with animals, create ethical and cultural shifts in society, and empower human capacity for compassion and change.



Purpose: We believe that animals have inherent rights. We believe that anyone who can perceive and feel should not be harmed or subjugated.

The animals we eat, wear, use for entertainment, research, tradition, and work are often hidden from view, both physically and metaphorically. Unwaveringly, we use our cameras not just to look at animals but to see them and to explore how all our lives intersect with the pressing issues of our time. Our ground-breaking animal photojournalism supports the efforts of advocacy communities at large and facilitates changes in attitudes and behaviours more broadly. We understand that seeing is a crucial component of the diverse efforts necessary to erode and eventually end the abuse of animals.

Our New Tagline

Our brand tagline is “Exposing the animals within.” Conceptual and provocative. “Within what?”

Exposing the animals within our food systems

Exposing the animals within our fashion industry

Exposing the animals within research and medicine

You’ll see this used on our website, socials, and more. It signifies our commitment to transparency, truthfulness, and advocacy through visual storytelling.

Tone of Voice and Language

As always, our tone remains journalistic, evocative, and balanced. We communicate with professionalism and clarity while evoking empathy and understanding through the stories we share. Our language is thoughtful, factual, and compassionate, fostering meaningful dialogue and conveying our commitment to driving positive change.

Our New Logo and Visual Identity

The brand colours for We Animals are a modern update to our original colour palette. We lead with a bright tangelo which is hard-hitting. When paired with our slate, it brings forth our professional and serious tone.

Several graphic elements further expand upon the We Animals visual identity, highlighting important facts and drawing upon the overlaps of the human-animal relationship.

Sweeper at the beach in Canada. Photo credit: Cindy Hughes.

We Expose. We Educate. We Empower.

Our work is part of a global effort to end animal suffering at the hands of humans. We believe seeing is an essential step in this collective effort to repair our species’ broken relationship with non-human beings.



“Political activist Susan Sontag wrote at length about looking at the suffering of others. Who should look? When, and why? The answer that she and many others came to, is that anyone who can help should look.

Looking at the suffering of animals is perhaps especially hard. To look at the suffering of animals is to face our complicity in it – we eat animals, we wear them, we test our medicines on them, and we put them in cages and arenas as entertainment.

For over 25 years, millions of people have seen and been moved by our work. With the number of animals inside factory farms growing, wild animal populations declining, and the world facing a climate crisis, now is the time to amplify our efforts.” — Jo-Anne McArthur, We Animals Founder, President, and Animal Photojournalist

Baskets of dead milkfish sit in rows on the loading dock of an Indonesian fish market. In the background, two workers carry a basket to the weighing area.

Lilly Agustina / Act For Farmed Animals / We Animals

Find out more about the next phase of We Animals’ work in our 2024-2025 Strategic Plan.

The We Animals team would like to thank our partners, AnyDay, for their expertise and contribution to our brand evolution, and Mek for their initial and invaluable guidance on this exercise.

We also extend our ever-lasting gratitude to the We Animals community for your championing and support. Thank you for being by our side.

Did you know? Our stock platform offers 30,000+ photos and video clips of animal issues around the globe. Non-commercial (free) and commercial licensing available.

Visit Stock Site